Before the Red Moon
by Swizz
Summary: The pack was staying in a wreck of a city—until strange, unfamiliar noble's troops start prowling around. After a small skirmish, the result is the wolves scattered all over the city. How do they throw off this new threat? COMPLETED
1. Capture

The pack was staying in a wreck of a city—until strange, unfamiliar noble's troops seem to be prowling around. After a small skirmish, the result is the wolves scattered all over. It isn't long before they reunite, but how can they throw off this new threat and still stick to the path that leads to Paradise? (ARGH, hideous summary)

A/N: (Yes, I know author's notes are supposed to go after the story…)Welcome to my fanfiction. Yes, the summary sucks, as does the title…but I sincerely hope the story won't. Eh…this is my first fic, and I'd really appreciate it if you read and reviewed! Thanks!

**Before the Red Moon**

The damp streets were cold and wet. Dirty snow lined the roadways and alleys, gravel and broken bits of cement and assorted rubbish strewing the city. A sick yellow glow came from the lofty, sinister streetlamps, illuminating some of the unclean snowfall and causing shadows to shrink away from the dim, eerie yellow radiance.

In one of the deeply shadowed alleys, a figure huddled behind the tall shiny trash bins, glinting dully in the weak, flickering light. One of the bins was knocked over, and the general stink of mildew, garbage, rats and the darkness kept most people from wandering down it. Unless one was looking for it, one wouldn't notice the small, quarter sized splashes of blood leading behind the cans.

It was a dog. Or what one would identify it with at first glance. Its pelt was a warm brown with a lighter shade of the same hue washing over its body around its long narrow muzzle and throat, legs and underbelly. A series of silver bracelets adorned its right front limb.

But no matter the bracelets and size, this was no dog. It was a young wolf.

A low whine escaped the young lupine, his ears pinned against his head and his golden, honey colored eyes were wary. There were a few shallow wounds on his body, one up below his left eye several on his back and sides and on his right paw, where it stained some of the bracelet. The results of a skirmish with unidentified Noble troops.

Toboe then bit back another whine of uncertainty, for fear of alerting some of the other animals that might be hostile around. He had seen dogs, big mean ones. None of them were wolves though…but what really worried him was where his friends were. They had been split up after the fight. Perhaps he should venture out and try to seek them out? His heart pounded at the thought, fear still present from the initial terror the troops had inspired. As a wolf he'd be able to find them better…Toboe peeked out from behind the pathetic shelter and crawled out carefully. With aching apprehension, his paws practically trembling with the urge to flee at first sign or sound of a gunshot, he slunk to the mouth of the alley, hugging the shadows as if for dear life.

He glanced warily out from his hiding spot and made as if to step out when he heard the hard, heavy footfalls of several people running. His heart jumped, beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

"The tracks go this way! And judging by those and the blood trail, I'd say he's pretty close!"

"Hurry up, Kem, we don't have all day. Hey, these tracks are a lot bigger than the other ones. I think it's the little brown wolf with the bracelets. Maybe he'll talk."

Toboe felt the breath freeze in his lungs as his blood ran cold. The second noble began to talk again. His voice was far more haughty and commanding than the other one who had been identified as Kem.

The other gave a derisive snort. "I sure as hell hope so. Just before Naro's com went dead, I heard him scream something about a big white wolf. And then there was Asina who was killed by a big gray. His partner said something about him having a funny scar. There was another wolf too, really big from what we could tell from the tracks, but no one's seen him yet. So, considering the last outcomes of dealing with wolves, we can't let our guards down."

"Aw, Maron!" Jem whined. "You weren't there at the fight. You talk like it's no big deal—ha, look! The tracks go here."

Toboe could see their shadows, although lengthend by the street lamps looming closer to his hiding place. Trying to force down his mounting panic, the young wolf started to turn and run as quietly as he could manage away from the site, but his bracelet made a slight chinking sound. His heart began to hammer wildly as he forgot caution and sprinted off, his eyes wide.

"Look, there he goes!" Jem yelled, spotting the fleeing shape that could be identified as Toboe. He charged after the wolf, his boots thudding in the snow. Maron followed.

"Don't shoot him, idiot, the Lady wants them alive!"

"Well, how in God's name to you want us to catch him?"

"The commander gave us shockers for a reason!"

Toboe's wounds weren't bad, so he could still run. Blind panic helped. _What the heck is a shocker? _He wondered blandly as he ran, trying to find a way that he could evade the hunters. He sprinted down alleyways and made sightless turns, all in desperation to get away. It wasn't long before he came to a dead end. Skidding to a stop, his mouth open in disbelief and horror. Turning, he remembered that day with Leara, and how he had gotten cornered by her…what saved him was using the human illusion.

_Stay calm, stay calm, stay calm! _He told himself desperately, trying to regain composure. By the time the noble troops had rounded the corner and came to the dead end, what they saw was an apparently human boy, backed up against the dead end.

Jem stopped dead in his tacks, staring at Toboe who had that deer-in-the-headlights syndrome. His jaw dropped open, but nonetheless pointed his gun at the disguised wolf.

"Maron…" The other noble just grinned wickedly. "I was told about this. They can trick us. See that bracelet?" he gestured to the stained bracelet on Toboe's right wrist. "It's the same little ornament on the brown wolf. Use the shockers!"

Toboe looked up, frantically trying to force his force his flagging limbs to do as he wanted and jump, carrying him away from the danger, but he couldn't move! Stunned stupid! He stared dumbly, his eyes wide, fearful and round, sweat breaking out all over his body as the noble dubbed Jem inserted a strange looking device onto the muzzle of the gun and targeted Toboe…and fired.

In a fraction of a second, a big gray blue shot from the higher points of the building that looked down on the alleyway, snarling, just as the noble pulled the trigger, so the shot thudded harmlessly into the ground. The wolf that had attacked was big and silver, a huge, pale scar crisscrossing his chest; his piercing green-yellow eyes alight with savage flame.

"Tsume!" was the only word that Toboe could manage, coming to his senses and snapping out of his shocked reverie.

Maron staggered backwards with a shrill cry of panic and fear. Jem had four long bloody scratches on his face, sure to scar, made by Tsume's claws.

"Toboe, move!" Tsume growled. He was scuffed up from the previous skirmish as well, but it was nothing to keep him down for long. "Move!"

"Okay!" Toboe cried, jumping up, but in mid-jump, something struck him in the chest, knocking him over backwards and into the wall as a strange static leapt from the projectile that had smacked him. Spidery waves of pain webbed across his body, causing him to slide down, limp in the snow as blackness began to obscure some of his vision. It stayed dim as his body stopped obeying him, just lying limp as a ragdoll. His mind was fuzzy…he dimly heard a snarling howl of fury from Tsume, and then a yelp of surprise, accompanied by triumphant voices.

"Ha, got two of 'em! Nice shooting, Maron!"

"Yeah, no thanks to you. Shoot the big one again; it doesn't look like one shocker'll keep him out of it." Toboe heard another bang and a thud before the sound of something sliding flaccidly to the ground with a growl of defiance.

He weakly lifted up his head, the black patches overpowering his vision and dragging him down into the inky depths of unconsciousness just as the Noble troop—he couldn't tell which one—picked him up.


	2. Complications

A/N: I'd like to thank Lonegreywolf for reviewing. It just so happens that I've been reading your series, can't wait for an update! xD –ahem- Chapter two! xD Now, sorry I didn't mention Hige or Kiba in the last chapter, so here goes. xD Beware if they're a bit ooc, I'm not too good with him.

Disclaimer: I don't own Wolf's Rain. –pouts-

**Before the Red Moon**

"Where the hell did they go?" complained the hefty brown wolf loudly as he walked alongside Kiba through the dark, now deserted streets.

"I can't smell any of that telltale funk. Looks like they're gone."

The white wolf, his fur streaked with dirt and some blood that contrasted starkly with his pale pelt didn't answer at first, his yellow eyes narrowed at the grim path before them. Kiba spoke after scrutinizing the ground up ahead.

"Hige, there are tracks. They're fresh too, see?"

He trotted over to the much mashed and stomped snow, and then arched his brows in a gesture to point these out to Hige. The big husky brown lupine followed and then sniffed the tracks and wrinkled his nose in distaste.

"Nobles," he said, his voice dripping with contempt. "Looks like they were chasing—"

A look of recognition crossed his face as he sniffed the prints again and he opened his mouth to say something, but Kiba beat him to it.

"Toboe. Come on!" The white wolf turned and pelted after the tracks, keeping his eyes on the easy to follow trail. There was blood, Toboe's from what he could tell. The prints also said that it had been a relatively small candid that the Noble troops had been chasing.

Hige sprinted after him, his eyes wide, snow flying out from behind him.

"The runt? Damn, he can't take care of himself!"

Kiba didn't answer, but as soon as they came to the sight of the battle, he took about nine seconds to process the site.

Small tracks overlapped by the tracks clumsy human boots made and then there were large prints, slightly bigger than Kiba's own. Several clumps of dark gray hair littered the area as well. Blood too.

"Tsume was here too." He said with a frown.

Hige sat down beside the large snow colored wolf. "Looks like Tsume tried to bail him out, and then…" he nudged the empty shocker shell with a paw, a look of confusion on his face.

"What the hell is this?"

Kiba studied the shell. "It's not a bullet. If they had killed them, there would have been more blood. No, Hige, they're still alive…" he scowled darkly. "But captive. Come on, the sooner we get a lead on this, the sooner we find them."

As Kiba turned away, Hige followed with a dubious expression on his face and a shadow over his eyes.

"Yeah, but for how long?"

Toboe awoke with a small groan as he came to his senses, awareness trickling back into his mind slowly. Every inch of his body ached, especially his head where he had been smashed into the wall. Blinking, he held a hand up to shield his eyes from the painfully bright light overhead, feeling as though it was as heavy as a brick. When he heard voices, his mind cleared a bit more, allowing him to make sense of the words.

"What did the commander say?"

Toboe guessed that the speaker was Jem.

"He said to guard them. Phaw!" Came Maron's voice, obviously frustrated and tired. "Honestly, he acts as if it was a piece of cake to tackle two damn wolves! He said, 'Maybe the Lady'll find it in her black heart to notice.'" The senior guard's voice took on a nasty and malicious tone, one ringing with a cruel kind of glee. "But it don't matter what we do with 'em, as long as they're in once piece when they get to the Lady! Where are the shock-collars?"

Toboe's eyes widened as his heart pace quickened. He cast about the room, biting his lip, looking for Tsume. It turned out the big gray wolf was lying slumped on the opposite side of the relatively small captive's wing. The young wolf sat up and hugged himself—the room was cold.

The room was small, the whole thing practically made of concrete and steel. He was sitting in a large cage with thick bars—as was Tsume. Boxes and crates lined the walls, a single light that was viciously bright hung overhead. Six short chains hung from low sections on the walls.

Toboe gulped. There were also lots of pointy objects he could see sticking out of one of the boxes. He heard a sudden, weary grunt coming from Tsume's side of the room, just as the large gray wolf lifted his long head off of the floor, blinking.

"Where the hell are we?" he asked, turning his sharp, but pained yellow-green gaze upon the younger wolf. There were some singe marks on the edges of his fur.

Toboe looked down. "I dunno, but…I think we're in an…airship."

Tsume snarled and hissed, "Dammit!" As nothing could keep the stubborn silver lupine down for long, he got up on his obviously hurting limbs and seized the thick metal bar in his long white teeth, twisting and tugging at it to make a larger entrance for himself.

Toboe heard footsteps coming towards them. His panic level started to rise again, "Tsume, stop, they might hurt you if—"

His words were cut off as the noble troops entered the room by practically slamming the door down.


	3. Lupine Woes

Disclaimer: I don't own Wolf's Rain. –pouts-

**Before the Red Moon**

Maron enjoyed the look of stark terror that washed over Toboe's features when the two Noble troops stormed in. Fear was good, it was one of the biggest guns he had.

Kem noted what Tsume was doing and slammed the but of his gun at the scarred gray wolf, knocking him further back into the cage.

"Next time, I'll hit you in the teeth and you won't have any fangs to break out with!" the younger troop growled.

"Leave him alone!" The words were practically spat out impulsively, but when Maron turned his face towards the younger brown wolf and advanced towards him with a hideously gleeful expression.

Toboe shrank back against the cage as far as he could go; his heart rate spiked. Tsume snarled something unprintable and lunged forward again, making the cage rattle violently.

Kem ignored him this time and moved over to where Maron was standing, barely a foot away from the cage. Except for Tsume's snarling, it was quiet.

"Don't—do—anything!" Tsume said furiously. "Or I'll make you wish you'd never been born!"

Maron looked like he had a sudden idea. "Hey Kem. Get your knife out." He instructed.

Toboe gulped. The knife the younger noble troop took out was seven inches long, wickedly sharp looking and the shiny blade had a jet hilt. Light bounced and reflected off of the weapon's honed edge.

Toboe had to fight to keep from whimpering.

Tsume practically roared.

"Don't you _dare, _damn—"

His words were cut off sharply when Kem, without warning threw opened the cage and seized Toboe by the front of his shirt in one violent motion and then shoved him to the ground on his back unceremoniously.

The young wolf yelped as his head rammed hard into the floor—it was still sensitive, but his heart was pounding against the walls of his chest so hard, he could have sword even this mysterious 'Lady' could hear it, wherever and whoever the heck she was.

He was about to sit up when Kem lowered the knife and let it hover just above the delicate skin of his throat.

The sun was coming up outside. The short night was over. Hige walked alongside Kiba with his hands jammed into his pockets, Kiba doing the same. People were out now, and it wouldn't do to just stay exposed.

"This stinks. In more ways than one." Hige complained. "Those dumb nobles are running around and we haven't heard anything about Tsume and the runt."

Kiba gave the slightest nod of his head. "Yeah, well, we just have to keep looking."

He stopped dead in his tracks when he spotted something, his odd blue eyes widening in surprise. Watching them from a shadowed alley, barely distinguishable from all the people around the place was a wolf.

A/N: Sorry for the short, realatively crummy chapter, I'm at school and my teachers are going to kill me if they find out. 

Thanks to all who reviewed! All two of you. –cackles- I love getting your reviews, I really appreciate them! FWA! The DRAMA! –dances around—


	4. Moon Guide

Disclaimer: I don't own Wolf's Rain. –sigh-

**Before the Red Moon**

Kem let the knife hover, barely a fraction of an inch away from Toboe's neck, and when Tsume attempted to knock the cage he was in over, Maron nodded and the younger noble pressed the blade down. It wasn't enough pressure to cut, but if Toboe tried to move his head at all…

The young candid didn't even attempt to swallow the lump that had formed in his throat, not with that blade so close. Sweat beaded on his brow, his heart hammering painfully, fear worming its way through his body.

Maron was smiling at Tsume.

"You know, if you keep struggling like this, he's dead meat." He motioned towards Toboe with a nonchalant gesture.

Tsume glowered and spat, "You damn idiot! Don't do anything or I'll—"

The silver wolf's sentence was finished by a threatening look from Maron. The noble strode towards the wolf in long strides, his face the picture of cruel delight. He put his ugly face barely inches from the bars, and when Tsume looked like he was going to tear his nose off, Maron hissed, "If you rip my face off, Kem'll kill that one. Do as I say or it's his blood on your…paws." He smirked as Tsume bristled.

Kem guffawed. Toboe closed his eyes, trying to calm his rapid breathing and trying to ignore his surroundings.

Maron continued. "I want to see you human. And then you'll walk out of the cage, nice and slow. You won't try anything, because if you kill me, you know what will happen. If you so much as think about trying anything…" he let the much repeated threat hang in the air. "Do it, wolf," he snarled.

When Tsume hesitated, Maron's gazed locked with Kem's, who tilted the edge of the knife and put more pressure, but it wasn't enough to cut…not yet…

Toboe almost let slip a whimper, but he had opened his light amber eyes, wide with fear and pleading in Tsume's direction.

The big gray wolf sighed, and lowered his head, in defiance rather than defeat. "Don't do it." Were his only words as the wolf seemed to disappear and a tall, lean youth sat in the big cage, looking every bit as threatening as he did as a wolf, from the earrings, torn jacket, scar and flinty yellow green eyes that were aflame with a furious light.

Maron nodded. "That's more like it," he said appreciatively. "Now, I'm unlocking the door now. Just come on out." He unlocked the door and stepped aside as a much humiliated Tsume half-crouched, half crawled out. He stood up straight and faced Maron for a second so thick with tension, the air could have been split with the knife that Jem had.

Tsume turned his head to look at Toboe, and despite the look on his face, there was genuine concern and anger in his steely yellow green eyes. But he only had his face in the younger wolf's direction before Maron made his lighting quick move. He reached inside his jacket and pulled out what looked like a white, wide collar and slapped it onto Tsume's neck. A short black chain hung from the edge.

Tsume barely had time to register his surprise, and when Maron yanked forcefully on the chain, the older wolf stumbled forward a bit with a grunt of shock and anger.

"What the hell—"

Maron then knocked the big wolf soundly on the head with the butt of his gun.

"Tsume!" cried Toboe jerking his head a little. He yelped a little as a very shallow cut missed his throat but hit the side of his neck. Blood slowly leaked from the wound.

"Hold still, dammit!" Kem snarled; shoving Toboe's head back onto the ground and pinning his arms with his own. It took him awhile to put the blade back into position while Tsume was wrestling with Maron.

The noble won over when he turned the chain at a strange angle and sparks leapt from the white part of the collar, causing Tsume's face to twist in pain as the sparks flashed all over his body. The wolf sank to his knees and Maron shoved him roughly against the wall, inserting the chain into a holder. It made a metallic sort of clicking sound as it accepted the end of the chain and locked it well.

In the short time that Tsume was stunned, Maron used the opportunity put some handcuffs on. Tsume was still dazed when the older noble troop growled, "There. All done." Turning to Kem, he said, loudly, "Let the runty one go, I don't have another shock collar. We can come back tomorrow with a python choker."

That didn't sound much better.

Toboe was finally able to relax his rigid position on the ground when Kem moved the knife away and used a single handcuff to chain the pup to the wall about four feet from where Tsume was. His first fear subsiding turned to concern for Tsume, who looked dazed, weak, and tired.

"Tsume…" he said, crawling as near to the big wolf as the chain would allow as soon as the troops left. "Are you okay?"

Tsume grunted and closed his eyes. "Yeah," he grunted, his voice thick with pain. "Just…get some sleep."

The wolf that Tsume and Kiba were staring at was a dark gray, near black with a cream colored underbelly and patches around one of his gray green eyes. The patch looked like a rough shape of a crescent moon. The illusion that a human would see if they looked at him was a young man around the ages that Kiba and Hige appeared, with green eyes, dark, short hair and a relatively pale complexion. His attire consisted of dark jeans and a green T-shirt.

Hige's eyes were huge too.

"What the hell is he doing there?" he wondered as Kiba moved forward. Following, he tried to look as discreet as possible. The wolf didn't move as the pair neared. Once they were in the alley, the wolf ducked into the shadows, half dragging the two along with him by the lapels of their shirts.

"Hey, cut that out!" Hige demanded, ripping free of the wolf's strong grip.

Kiba pulled away and looked at him with calculating eyes, tense and waiting for the other wolf to make the first move.

"You brought those nobles with you!" accused the stranger heatedly, looking as if he was trying to burn holes through the two wolves standing before him.

"We're trying to throw them off. We didn't have anywhere else to go, we're passing through." Kiba said evenly, not mentioning the fact that two of his packmates were in danger. You don't mention things like that to loners. Wolves take care of their own, that's how it worked.

"Well, you've spooked and risked the lives of the pack that lives around here," the stranger spat.

Kiba hid his surprise. The wolf looked like a ragged dog, skinny and beat up. There was no way he was part of a pack—even Zali's wolves didn't look that bad.

"Wait a second!" Hige put in, annoyed by the hostile candid. "We didn't ask them to chase us and who the hell are you to be yelling accusations at us? You're not even part of a pack anyway. You have the smell of a wolf stuck on it's own for awhile."

The stranger lowered his angry eyes. "Well, they…uh…"

"Drove you out?" Kiba suggested mildly.

The wolf looked up all of a sudden and growled. "I was framed. But even though they treat me as an enemy, my loyalty remains. My name is Getsuei. Who are you? And your pack looks a bit…depleted."

Kiba wasn't happy about this situation. If the pack that lived around here were as threatening as this one loner that they had thrown out and yet his loyalty remained, they could be hostile enough to drive them out, or worse try and kill them. It wasn't unheard of, especially packs who had to live like this. They were worse of than Zali, and he previously hadn't thought that was possible.

"I'm Kiba." He said after a few moments of hesitation. "This is Hige. And never mind the size of the pack. I just want to know the name of the noble that controls this city and where he stays."

Getsuei narrowed his eyes and smiled shrewdly. "Took the rest of your pack, did she?"

Kiba and Hige both stiffened. Hige opened his mouth to say something, and by the look on his face it was probably rude, but Getsuei continued.

"Anyway, she lives in the big castle on the hill overlooking the city. She's got an airship hovering above it, just to give an ominous impression. But you'll need help getting there." He seemed to be trying to suggest something.

Kiba narrowed his eyes and Hige demanded, "What the hell are you trying to get at?"

"Fond of that phrase, aren't you?" Getsuei said saucily as he flicked his ears at them. "I can help you. I have reasons of my own to get there, but since you're going, you might as well have some help. Besides, I can fight. And as for trusting me, well, I don't have a reason to betray you to anyone. Even though packs don't look out for each other, we don't sell out our own kind."

His words made sense. Kiba disgested this information quickly, and though Hige still looked skeptical, he said, "Fine. But let's get a move on."

A/N: Haha. This chapter is nice and long, making up for the crummy effort made last time. xD YAY, new reviewers. –dances- Looking forward to your opinions on this. By the way, 'Getsuei' means 'moon' in Japanese. Heehee, random fact, just thought you'd like to know. Until next update! Pwahah!


	5. Bad News All Around

Disclaimer: I don't own Wolf's Rain. –sniff-

((Freakishly long author's note at bottom))

**Before the Red Moon**

"Hurry up, will you?" Complained Hige he and Kiba followed their cream and gray guide. It was getting late, the moon was up—waning crecent tonight—and there were practically no people wandering around. Those that were up and about were a few pitiful hobos and a couple of shady looking characters. The 'Lady's' troops had given up that day's search a few hours ago.

Getsuei looked back over his shoulder at the hefty wolf. He was up ahead of the two several meters. "We're getting closer, but this is a relatively big city, Hige," he said smoothly, an air of superiority about him that seriously pissed Hige off. "Besides, if we go too quickly, we might attract the attention of Ryo's pack."

"Ryo?" Kiba repeated, keeping his face straight and emotionless.

Getsuei laughed, causing Kiba to bristle in the slightest bit. His manner was really irritating—he seemed to revel in their ignorance, and Hige was going to say something about it when the annoying loner continued.

"Ryo is the leader of the pack that lives here. She's ruthless, territorial and easy to anger, so stomping around in the territory like this might piss her off. She's killed lone wolves who wander in before, and since there's two of you, she might have the rest of the pack tear you to pieces. However, if she's in a merciful mood, she might just question you…"

Hige snorted rudely. What a pack leader she sounded like! "That's nuts!" he said loudly. "She sounds like a whimsical windbag, not a leader. Why the hell do you stay loyal to a maniac like that?"

"Hige…!" Kiba hissed, but it was too late.

Getsuei stopped dead in his tracks and stormed back over to where the other two were. He shoved his long pointed muzzle into Hige's face and snarled, his hackles raised and his tail bushed out, "She's a good leader. She has kept us safe from many a noble infiltration and search, brought us through hard times and enabled us to survive! She cares for her packmates."

Hige frowned and was about to come back with a sharp retort when Kiba caught his eye. The look on the white wolf's face was a warning and a hint to shut up. Flattening his ears, the large brown wolf complied, but his ears remained flat.

"Fine, whatever," he spat out. Getsuei glared at him, turned and ran back up ahead, causing snow to fly into Hige's face. The hefty brown wolf spat the dirty white stuff out of his mouth and shook the cold substance out of his eyes. "Phaw! I bet he meant to do that," he grumbled.

Kiba shook his head and followed with a sigh, but his eyes were searching, his ears flicking in all directions. His muscles were tense, he moved warily. Then, he heard a low chuckle from one of the deeply shadowed alleys.

"Oh _crap_!" He heard Hige say. Getsuei swore as a loud snarl ripped through the still air as many unfamiliar lupine scents flooded his nose.

Toboe had been sleeping, a slumber riddled with horrific nightmares when he heard a low whimpering. But it wasn't Tsume.

Opening his light amber eyes, he cast them about the room, his heart starting to pick up its pace. His eyes quickly registered to the darkness, but there wasn't anyone in the room besides Tsume…

"Dump the stupid animal in with the other two, she won't do anything." A noble troop's voice sounded.

Toboe was able to relax the slightest bit to hear that it was neither Kem nor Maron's voice. Another noble, also unknown grunted and said, "Get the door open then. God, she's as broken as some dogs."

More whining sounded, and then the scrabbling sound of claws on metal as a big lupine form was shoved in, and then the door was closed and the nobles left, talking.

Toboe stared at the wolf who sat slumped at the locked door. Her fur was very dark, near black, but it was ragged and dirty, blood matting it. Her eyes were a pale gray, dull and sunken with defeat. Her ribs showed starkly through her thin fur. It was a pitiful sight.

"There's nothing to see over here, pup." She spoke in a voice cracked with age, her voice flat. "I'm just a wasted old fool, and none of them'll do me the mercy of death." She cackled a laugh without humor.

"But they're going to kill you soon…very soon."

A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed! –bows- As I said earlier, I really appreciate it. I'm glad you're enjoying the story, guys. And thanks very much Ryuujin Dragon King for the anonymous reviews tip and the thing for 'moon'…I got 'getsuei' from some website that had the word 'moon' in several languages, but apparently the person was a little off. Oh well. xD I'm Mexican-American, so the only way I previously knew how to say moon was in Spanish and English…Lonegreywolf, happy to hear from ya –hugs-, and Kristen, don't worry, I shall update soon. –grins at you all- Thankyamuch. Gracias!


	6. It's a Small World

Disclaimer: I don't own Wolf's Rain. –sniff-

((Freakishly long author's note at bottom))

**Before the Red Moon**

Toboe gulped. She had said it with such certainty, he wasn't sure weather or not to doubt her words.

"What?"

It was the only thing he could get past the lump in his throat. The old she wolf looked up and laughed at him again, a dry, airless cackle. Toboe gasped when he saw her face. Her eyes had a milky film over them, making them glassy and dull. She was stone blind. An ugly scar ran through one of them.

"Yeah, keep lookin'. Aren't I pretty?" she said.

The young wolf felt sweat bead on his forehead and couldn't force words out. He didn't have to.

"What the hell—"

Tsume had just woken up. He shook his head and then glared at the blind wolf, a growl forming in his throat. "Who are you? What did you just say?"

The wolf sighed, as if weary and then said in a low voice. "Meral. And I just prophesised this one's most likely future."

Toboe blinked. "'Most likely?'" He repeated in confusion, some of his immediate terror subsiding a little. His breath still came in short gasps though.

"There are plenty of futures that could happen!" Meral snapped. "The most likely one right now is that you will both die. Another is that you'll escape. Another is that we'll be rescued."

Tsume allowed a low snarl to escape him. "A seer, eh? That's all hogwash. We don't have to believe you. I don't." He didn't sound completely confident though, and that really worried Toboe.

The young wolf's expression was far softer than the one Tsume had on his face. "No, wait," he said, quietly, his eyes on Marel. "What are you doing here anyway? A wolf like you?"

Marel raised her blind eyes. "I was part of Ryo's pack."

Kiba glared into the shadows, aware of the fact he, Getsuei and Hige were surrounded. His long hackles were raised, his lips pulled back to reveal his long white teeth which he had used to kill many a creature when the big, gray and brown wolf stepped from the largest alley.

She was skinny, but very big. Her ears were scarred and one had a large tear. One eye was yellow and the other was green, giving her a very ominous appearance. Most of her other scars were hidden by the long, wiry dust brown and stormy gray fur that covered her long, lean body. She bared her yellowed teeth at the three wolves and snapped at the air as the rest of her pack moved in to make a circle around them.

Kiba assumed that this one was Ryo, leader of the pack.

Completely ignoring Kiba and Hige, she moved to where Getsuei was, with the liquid grace of the long extinct panther. Shoving her muzzle into his face in a similar way that Getsuei had been hostile to them, she demanded in a low, harsh voice, "Getsuei! Why does a murderer such as yourself bring intruders into this city! I had the grace to let you stay, but now you come with enemies! Tell me why, _little brother."_

Kiba tried to hide the surprise on his face as his head whipped in the direction of the two wolves. Little brother? The only family resemblance was their builds, but it was hard to tell because they were so skinny.

"What?" Hige blurted, shooting an accusatory glare at their guide. "You're wanted for murder and your sister is the leader of the pack here? _And _she threw you out?"

A emaciated male almost as big as Ryo stepped forward and snapped at Hige's ear, who pulled away in time.

"Don't talk unless you're spoken to!" he snarled.

Kiba didn't like this situation, and since Getsuei wasn't saying anything, he stepped forward and faced Ryo. "We're not enemies." He said, keeping his voice calm.

"We're looking for the Lady. Not a fight."

Ryo's harsh, flinty eyes narrowed. "That's what they all say!" she retorted. But she seemed to reconsider, taking stock of Kiba's appearance.

"Took a beating from the noble troops, huh?" she seemed to be trying to deliberately aggravate Kiba, but he didn't do anything except continue to stare levelly at the big female.

Getsuei had found his voice.

"Ryo, I'm not a murderer!" he snapped, his hackles raised. "Marel is alive, I know it! If I don't bring her back in ten days, I'll show you my throat."

Hige turned to the brother wolf. Was he crazy? Who the hell was Marel anyway?

Ryo's laugh was callous and bitter. "Fine. But you'll be hard pressed to find another blind seer, Getsuei. Get out of here and take these dogs with you, or I'll change my mind."

That hurt. Kiba stepped forward and flattened his ears, starting to growl when Hige nudged him and jerked his head in the direction that Getsuei had already started off in. The big white wolf shot a proud look at Ryo, as if he was looking at some underling and followed.

A/N: ARGH! I guess you guys thought I fell into a well. Dang near right. Anyway, sorry about the UBERLY slow update and thanks to all who reviewed! –huggles- And I also apologize for the shty chapter. X.x; Writer's block strikes.


	7. Are We There Yet?

Disclaimer: I don't own Wolf's Rain. –sniff-

**Before the Red Moon**

"Give it to us straight, Getsuei!" Hige said loudly after they were a few miles away from Ryo and her vicious pack. The snow was falling harder in mean, small flakes, the wind whipping at their fur and stinging their eyes, but there wasn't a chance in hell that they were going to stop.

Getsuei was visibly disgruntled with Hige, and snapped, "Fine. Marel is our seer. Ryo relied a lot on her, and whenever there was a possibly bad future coming up, she'd ask Marel what to do to fix it—because there's always an alternate future. For example, we could get out of this blizzard if we hurry, or we could die if we stay."

Kiba twitched his ears as he ran. "That's a lot of pressure on one's mind," he mused.

Hige wasn't satisfied yet. In attempt to catch up closer to the lean and fast Getsuei, he charged forward, snow flying out from under his paws and then asked, "Well, why the hell are you wanted for murder?"

Getsuei frowned. "We had a patrol on the edge of the city when the Lady's troops came in. Then, when we were leaving, they attacked us. There was blood all over the snow, and since I had killed like, four of the noble troops, there was some on my teeth and claws. They grabbed Marel, who was old even then, and not to mention blind and ran off. The wolves I had under my command were ones that didn't like me very much, and saw this as a perfect chance to ruin my favor with my sister. They knocked me out, dragged me back to Ryo and accused me of murdering Marel."

"And she believed them?" Kiba asked dubiously.

Getsuei snorted and then replied angrily, "Of course! Every one of us had been wounded, so they probably smeared my face and claws with her blood."

Hige scoffed loudly. What kind of pack was theirs? "Some pack of wolves you are! You behave more like a bunch of starving dogs!"

Getsuei didn't answer, and Kiba didn't comment. That was what made Hige sure that he was right and the others agreed. Getsuei wouldn't admit it if you had a gun, he seemed to Hige the only half-decent wolf in Ryo's pack, and even then wolves like Tsume were preferable.

"How much farther?" he asked after a while of silence. Then, the piercing ringing of a noble ship screaming in the sky made them all look up. The huge airship moved fast and sure overhead, it's colors a deep purple and red. It was headed for the tall black manor on the hill a few miles in front of them.

Kiba put on more speed, passing Getsuei. "Come on, hurry! We have to beat them there!"

Both Toboe and Tsume stared at Marel with expressions that plainly said, "Who the hell is Ryo?"

Answering for both, the old wolf sighed. "Ryo is the leader of the pack I was in. I was their seer, but the nobles kidnapped me. I'm a weak old fool and my existence here as been miserable. All I wish for is the point of a gun to my head."

Toboe's face was then set into an expression of genuine confusion. "But why, if you have the chance to escape?"

Tsume snorted rudely. "Well, she's obviously tired of living, but what the hell do we care?" he turned his back on the old wolf and forced his sympathy for her down.

Toboe cocked his head once more, and glanced from Tsume to the grizzled wolf and then sighed. It was going to be a long, miserable, scary airship ride…

Maron and Kem slowly entered the command center, where the commander stood at ease, watching the course of the ship.

Maron, being a senior troop didn't have to remain as formal as Kem did. "Any orders from the Lady, sir?" he asked, hoping that they were allowed to kill at least one of the wolves that had caused them so much trouble.

The commander, with his large bushy mustache, gray hair and sunglasses chewed a piece of gum and glared at them irritably. "No, not yet!" he said petulantly between his loud chews. "The Lady's saving them for when we get back to the castle. It's only an hour or so left. Oh yes, but I'll let you in on a little secret if you'll keep quiet about it."

Maron leaned forward, forcing an excited look on his face to keep from showing.

"I'm to pick two troops for the job…."

A/N: Gack. Sorry about the very, VERY slow updating, I'll try to be more consistent in the future. –dies- Very, very busy life I'm getting. –tears up schedule- Okies. Hope ya liked the chappie and that you can forgive me for being away so long! 0.0


	8. What in the HELL Kind of a Reuinion is T...

Disclaimer: I don't own Wolf's Rain. –sniff-

**Before the Red Moon**

The airship docked roughly, knocking Toboe from his troubled sleep, which wasn't exactly restful anyway. He yelped in surprise, tumbling forward a few feet, but the chain held him fast. It yanked painfully as the links grew taut and the cuff cut into his wrist.

Tsume had a similar revelation. "What the hell—"

Marel, who had stayed in the same position she had been sitting in the whole time grinned, showing her yellowed and worn teen and shook her grizzled head. "We've docked."

The young wolf's heart almost stopped beating as he felt a thin film of sweat break out all over his body. "Docked?" he repeated with a hard swallow.

Marel nodded again, a strange longing in her blind, dull eyes. "Now," she whispered. "Someone will come and end this miserable life,"

Tsume snorted. "Well, great for you."

Toboe's voice took on a desperate tone. "Tsume, come on, we have to get out of here!"

The big wolf was already trying to oblige the younger one, pulling at the chains and yanking viciously at the wide white collar, but it held fast. Gasping, he leaned back against the wall. "What the hell is this crap made out of?" he wondered.

Toboe was also pulling at his, even gnawing at it, ignoring Tsume's rhetorical question. It wasn't uncommon that he did that—

BAM.

The door opened again with a loud crash and in stormed two very happy looking noble troops. "Ah, you're awake!"

Maron clapped his hands together and rubbed them eagerly.

Toboe and Tsume froze.

Kem grinned wickedly and then put a finger under his chin, as if thinking. "You know, Maron, remember what the general said if they were too…fiery."

Maron nodded, taking out his long knife. "Oh, _yes,_" He said, striding towards Toboe. The brown wolf shrank back against the wall with wide eyes.

"Oh no you don't!" Tsume barked, lunging forward, but Kem turned on the collar. Sparks flew as pain twisted Tsume's hard features, crackling along the length of his body—leaving him unable to help himself or Toboe.

Maron approached and shoved the long blade beneath Toboe's chin again. The yong wolf's eyes screwed tight as he felt the cold steel pinpricking against his throat once more, but was surprised greatly when Maron took it away, and slammed him in the head with the heavy hilt and then kicked him in the gut with his hard boot…

Kiba, Hige and Getsuei stood at the foot of the noble palace; it's black, sinister spirals reaching out like prisoners of the ground to stab the gray sky above. The whole place had this vicious air about it, an ominous warning…

Kiba looked up, watching the huge noble ship dock and his face hardened. "They're up there," he said, squinting as the massive structure came to a halt with a thump.

Hige's ears were pricked forward, his nose straining to catch a trace of the scent, and to Kiba's surprise, his face twisted into one of shock, and then anger.

"Damn!" The brown wolf exclaimed. "They're up there, but I smell blood…and some unfamiliar wolf!"

Getsuei's face had been kind of dreamy before, and now, it came sharply into focus once more. "Huh?" the word was spat out.

"Who the hell cares? What did those two do know to get those nobles mad enough to kill them?"

Kiba's voice was rock steady…almost. His heart pounded. Dead? They couldn't be dead. "Are they still alive?" he demanded of Hige.

Hige sniffed again and nodded forcefully. "Yeah, but we've gotta get there fast!"

A/N: -insert dirty word here- I got grounded. ARGH. I hope you guys haven't forgotten me! ;; On happier note, I just got my paws on all the Wolf's Rain DVDs except for number seven, which comes out on May 24…


	9. Off to See the Lady

Disclaimer: I don't own Wolf's Rain. –whimpers-

**Before the Red Moon**

Toboe's head hurt, and the top of it was damp—and it wasn't sweat. There was blood oozing from the cut he had received on his neck the previous day, reopened and bleeding anew. His body ached from the various bruises and blows he had taken and was still enduring…

Tsume was in similar shape, only worse. He had a bad wound in his lower arm, bruises all over, a shallow head wound and some awful cuts on miscellaneous parts of his body.

Maron was holding his spear, his eyes having lost most of that crazy look, but there was some still present. Toboe wondered blandly if he was completely sane to begin with. His thought remained unfinished as Kem rammed the end of his spear into Toboe's gut, causing the young wolf to double over and hold his midsection, gasping in pain.

Maron chuckled. "Hit him again, Kem—I like the funny sound he makes."

Tsume, beaten and tired snarled and kicked out at the noble's feet, knocking him from his standing position so he landed right on his behind with a thump. His big knife went flying and clattered against the far side of the room.

"Bastard." Tsume grunted scornfully.

Toboe looked up just as Kem pole axed him with a punch on the side of the head, and then rewarded Tsume with several blows to the head with the end of the spear, and the noble troop wouldn't let up.

Toboe's face twisted into an expression of concern and hopeless anger. "Stoppit! Just stop you stupid—"

Kem stopped. And Maron got up. Tsume's face was a bloody mess at this point.

"Dammit, Toboe, don't—" he started, his voice rough and rasping with pain, but his words were cut off when Maron kicked him viciously in the head with his metal-toed boot. The big wolf crashed over on his side, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

"Good, he's down. Probably won't come around until we get to the Lady's Throne room inside the damn Keep," Kem muttered.

"This sure as hell ain't," Maron growled, taking several steps forward and unsheathing a small, four inch knife. "He called me stupid. And he told me to stop. I want to see his blood. Hey wolf, you know what color your blood is? You're about to find out."

Toboe wondered how many freaking knives this guy had and backed up against the wall, his body shaking and sweat dripping down his brow, but he refused to give Maron the satisfaction of seeing him terrified…but it wasn't working that well.

The troop brought the knife back wards, and then aimed it for the young wolf's chest and then stabbed downwards, but Toboe moved at the last second. But the blade drove down deep into his left shoulder, causing him to cry out with pain as blood seeped from the wound.

Kem laughed as Maron backed up after wrenching his knife out. Toboe gasped in pain as the sharp, cold metal was extracted.

Maron seemed unaware of what he had done as he examined the bloody knife that dripped onto the cold floor. "Red, huh? Just like everyone else's, I suppose." He turned to Kem. "Cut them loose and let's take 'em to the Lady."

Toboe looked up as Kem yanked off Tsume's collar and chains, picking up the huge gray wolf by the back leg and dragging him off. Now that he was unconscious, he no longer appeared human.

Toboe felt his own sight fading a bit, and when Maron struck him with the hilt of the dagger, the pain, blood, and the force of the blow left his with no choice but to….close…his eyes.

His head thudded to the ground as his body went limp—in completely dead faint.

Kiba, Hige and Getsuei were at the doors of the Keep, having a friendly chat with the guards. Well, it started out as one anyway. There were only nine of them guarding the entrance, and Kiba had his fangs in the throat of the one last standing.

Once he was dead, the big white wolf moved away, his body streaked with blood and grit, as were the others.

Hige was eager to get inside the damn structure. "Come on," he gasped, wondering if it was too late.

Getsuei's eyes seemed focused on something far away as Kiba nodded and started to run inside.

A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, Saberwolf, and Lonegreywolf! –glomps both of you- Thank you, thank you…HAWHAW! I got to see episodes 11 through 22 for the first time! –dances around throwing confetti- Wow, Darcia's a forking BASTA—Mustard. o0 –cough- Anyhow, thanks again guys! Glad to hear you're enjoying the story. And Lonegreywolf…if you don't mind me asking, how old are you?


	10. Lady Sheshkemana

Disclaimer: I don't own Wolf's Rain. –whimpers-

**Before the Red Moon**

Toboe awoke to find his cheek pressed to a cold floor, his head throbbing badly. His shirt was cold and sticky where Maron had stabbed him, and the pain was no less—it was as if his shoulder was on fire. Blood oozed sluggishly from it.

He opened his eyes slowly, to discover he was on the floor of a dark room, dimly lit by some hellish red light. He also heard horrifically familiar voices.

"He's coming to…"

A loud thump followed, as if something had been hit in the head.

"Shut up, Kem, Lady Sheshkemana's coming. We're guards today, remember? So, just zip it until she asks you to talk.

Toboe used his uninjured arm to support himself as he slowly got up, feeling lightheaded with pain and gradual awareness. He collapsed on the floor again when the room started to spin.

A stifled guffaw followed, and then a snarl from Tsume—

"I thought he told you to shut up." His voice would have been weak with pain, but he was strong enough to hide it. Toboe's vision was clearing, so he could see Tsume's bloodied face, but the initial green fire in his eyes remained ever present.

"Are you all right, Toboe?" he rasped. Toboe nodded and held his shoulder, glad that some of the pain was fading away. "Yeah…I'm—"

His words were brought to a screeching halt as the huge double doors slammed open with a mighty creaking and awesome clangs. A red light appeared off to the side where the wolves were, and a barbaric throne was perched there.

But the woman walking through the doors was one hell of a lot scarier. Toboe gasped as she strode through, as confident as a lion with a long sword sheathed at her side. She wore a strange tiara with long spikes jutting out of it, as was the same on her belt. She had heavy black gloves and shoes, her skirt had cuts in it almost all the way up to her waist—the black flowing material almost like water. Her midnight dark hair streamed out like a river and her eyes were hidden by a jet eyepiece set over them, but a malicious green glow seemed to come from its depths.

"Dammit…" Toboe heard Tsume curse as he staggered to his feet. Neither of the wolves was chained, and Tsume was just about to take advantage of it when Lady Sheshkemana raised her hand in a powerful motion and an intricate red ring of light surrounded both wolves.

Toboe felt as if all his strength was being sucked out of him by force, as if some relentless vampire had clamped onto him and wouldn't let go. With a small grunt, he sank to his knees, feeling like his legs had millstones tied to them.

Tsume fought it better, but it wasn't much longer until he dropped down too. He was fighting to stay up. "What…do you want? Let us out of here!" he growled.

Toboe heard something that sent spasms of fear straight to his very bones and around his heart, sinking into all the cracks of his emotional defenses—a high pitched, cold, airless cackle. And by the way her shoulders were shaking, it was Sheshkemana.

"Tell me, wolf." She said in a voice that was drastically different from her laugh as she made her way to her throne and sat down. She scrutinized them with her creepy, glowing eyes and said in a repugnant voice, like wine sliding over smooth marble, "Where are your friends hiding? And…" she seemed to take into consideration her next question, but to Toboe it was like she had rehearsed everything she said, "…have your found Paradise?"

They were the questions that Toboe had half-expected anyway…but they couldn't tell her? They knew neither answer for either question. He was about to stammer something when Tsume shouted, "We're not going to tell you anything, you evil witch!"

Toboe found comfort in Tsume's bravery, and it took almost everything he had to gasp out, "Not one word…!"

Sheshkemana seemed unruffled. She turned her gaze slowly onto Toboe, who flinched and widened his eyes in fear. She smiled a smile even more frightening than her laugh.

"The sight of your blood dripping brings me great pleasure, pup…" she said. "And I would love to spend the time breaking you, gray wolf, but I'm in a bit of a hurry," she directed this at Tsume and then turned back to a terrified Toboe.

"And I believe he'll crack more easily."

"This stupid place is worse than a maze!" Hige complained as the three wolves sprinted through the labyrinth of passages in the prisoner's wing.

"I know where we're going—I have to find Marel first!" Getsuei snapped, turning another corner, the red light giving them a demonic appearance.

Hige was about to say something else when the cream and gray wolf slid to a halt in front of a dark cell. And old blind she wolf was in there, and her blind eyes were fixed on the wall.

"Is this her?" Kiba demanded, glancing towards the end of the passage. "We don't have time!"

Getsuei slammed his fist down on the electronic lock and said, "Marel, come on! It's me, Getsuei!"

Marel shuffled out of the cage as fast as she could and said, "I know, Getsuei, but there isn't time for this! The little brown wolf—he's going to die!"

A/N: -dances around like a maniac- Heeheehee! I am a genius—no, just kidding, I'm hyper. I had chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast today…8D…but I have a cold or something…-sniff- cough Thanks for the reviews, people! And yay, Kristen, thought you'd fallen into a hole. -hugs- Great to see ya back. Lonegreywolf, thankies for your chapterly review and Saberwolf. –glomps you all- 0 HOLY GOD IN HEAVEN! Did you say twenty one, Lonegreywolf? –dies- I'm THIRTEEN for cripes sake…Thanks again everyone for the encouraging comments and reviews. Say, does anyone know where the HLL I can find Wolf's Rain transcripts? For a…future project. –grins evilly-


	11. A Botched Rescue

Disclaimer: I don't own Wolf's Rain. –whimpers-

**Before the Red Moon**

"What?" Hige shouted. "Toboe?"

Marel ignored him and started to sprint as fast as she could down the prison wing corridors, her gait, despite the fact it was amazingly fast for a wolf of her age, was labored and stiff, her breath came in short gasps.

"No time!" Kiba told him, pelting off after Marel, closely followed by Getsuei.

Hige lurched forward, his paws practically flying. Toboe…dead? Tsume maybe? Not going to happen, it just…

Kiba's face was set in a snarl as they ran, desperation to reach his friends lending wings to his paws. He hated having to stay behind the old wolf, but he had no clue where he was going, and there was something in the air that obscured scents…

"This way!" Marel cried, rounding a corner and staying perfectly straight, like an arrow, as she ran.

"How the hell does she know where she's going?" demanded Hige of Getsuei as they ran.

Getsuei couldn't shrug, but he replied, "I dunno! Shut up and run, it's your friends that are going to die!"

This comment made Hige want to hit Getsuei, and he probably would have if it weren't for the situation. "Tell that to Marel!" he retorted.

Their claws made rapid clicking sounds on the hard floors, the sound magnified by the high ceilings. It was a damned maze in here! Marel must have another sort of sight to be able to maneuver her way—

Hige's train of thought halted as they came to the huge double doors. But there was at least a score of guards waiting, with shiny, just sharpened spears for them.

Kiba didn't even stop running. He charged the nearest one with tinpot amour and leaped, grabbing his neck. Blood dripped from his muzzle as the first one fell with a clang and he attacked the next one without a thought.

Hige himself slammed into the nearest guard, flailing and tearing, desperate to get these stupid flunkies out of the way. Getsuei attacked with similar ferocity, and even Marel started to fight, but she was faring badly due to her age and lack of sight.

They had to finnish fast—The lives of Tsume and Toboe were at stake!

Lady Sheskemana was tiring of Toboe's resilience against her, even with the fact that she had him pinned against the wall…with her gloved hand around his throat.

Toboe's eyes were shut tight, his left hand trying to pry Sheshkemana's away from his neck and the other trying to yank it off, but his struggles were definetly weakening…he could barely breathe, it was as if there was Sheshkemana's hand was made of iron, shoving the air out of his body. His heart pounded violently against it, ringing in his ears.

Tsume's struggles were accompanied with snarls and the pained cries of Maron and Kem as they struggled to subdue him enough while Sheshkemana tried questioning Toboe.

"You damn noble, let him go! Gerroff me!"

"Maron, hold his muzzle, he's tearing my ass to pieces!"

"Tie up his paws, get his paws! That's gonna scar!"

Sheshkemana ignored them and casually squeezed Toboe's windpipe a notch harder. She could feel the life in his neck, pounding away, desperate for air. At this point, his efforts were failing and his eyelids weren't shut as tight as before…they were starting to flutter.

"Tell me!" she hissed. "Where are your friends hiding? Where are the gates to Paradise hidden?" her voice steadily rose until it was practically a shriek.

Toboe coughed and moaned, trying frantically to get her hand away, but it was like trying to catch smoke…and the same went for holding onto conciousness. It was just slipping away…his heart's relentless hammering was starting to slow down a little, it's vicious slamming against the walls of his chest letting up a little…how good it would be to just…forget the pain….and just close…his…

"I…won't…tell you!" the words were spat out as they sapped his strength, causing him to wilt completely. Sheshkemana completely lost patience with him and screamed, "Then you've just chosen your death!"

She slammed him down violently on the floor, knocking whatever air there was from his lungs. Stars exploded behind his eyes, the pain felt was almost distant…his shoulder wound reopened again…he closed his eyes and sank into the dark embrace of unconciousness.

"Toboe, no!" Tsume screamed, fighting with all his strength to get away, lacerating, biting, but his strength was failing, due to the energy sapping ring around him.

Sheshkemana took out her sword, a long, black blade, it's edges curving gracefully to sharp point. She tipped Toboe's head back with it and prepared to stab downwards when the double doors boomed open once more, causing her to drop the blade near Toboe's prone body.

Four very pissed off wolves stood in the doorway, Kiba, bloodied, but at the front with Hige, Getsuei and Marel with him. All sported wounds, but all bore snarls as well.

Kem was unconscious by the time that the wolves made their appearance, so Tsume took advantage of Maron's surprise and knocked him out with a swift blow to the head

"Wolves!" the Lady snarled, picking up her sword again, her smile cruel. "I was hoping you'd come to visit."

Kiba had seen Tsume sneak behind Sheshkemana, but feigned ignorance of it. "Let them go!" he demanded.

Sheshkemana laughed. "I'm afraid that's quite impossible, wolf. Now that you're here…" Tsume started to creep up behind her and when he lunged, she twisted around, snakelike and used the flat of her blade on his forehead, effectively knocking him out.

Kiba and Hige lunged forward, but were put down quickly by red beams from those armored shock troops, as were Marel and Getsuei before they could move.

Shehskemana laughed and told her troops, "Get them in the cells. I'll deal with them later."

A/N: Wow, that was quick you guys! –hugs- Hardyhar, two updates in one day, my record! I couldn't go to school due to my stupid cold…-sniffs- Thanks so much Lonegrey and Saber for your comments. - -grins- Those dword transcripts are evil, I've looked on Google already. –slams- DARNDARNDARN. I suppose I'll just have to make my own then… thanks for the life-advice, Lonegrey!


	12. Analysis

Disclaimer: I don't own Wolf's Rain. –whimpers-

**Before the Red Moon**

Tsume blinked his yellow green eyes blearily, to find himself looking at everything as if it was on its side. His bleariness faded as soon as the memories of the past events crashed down on top of him like a tree, and with a grunt, he tried to sit up quickly, but the pain of his wounds forced him to stiffen, complaining at the strain he was putting on his beaten body.

"I've suffered worse…" he muttered under his breath, ignoring his pain and sitting properly, putting his back to the wall. Turned out he was in a circular cell, with thick, opaque walls of what appeared to be metal on all sides except for the front, where thick bars barricaded escape. That wasn't all either, there were bars horizontally placed and vertically placed, so it would be absolutely impossible to escape by chewing the bars or twisting them. "Dammit…" he muttered, casting an eye about.

He hadn't bothered to take stock of his surroundings at first, but now, he saw that his fellow wolves were all unconscious around him; their bodies limp as rag dolls. Blood streaked their fur, but they all looked like they would recover…they always did.

But one thing that caught and held his attention was the state Toboe was in. There was blood all over his shoulder and a lot of his upper arm, various cuts and bruises were visible on his face, collarbone and arms. The way his body was positioned, and the way his head lolled, he looked a lot more dead than alive…

Tsume's heard started beating a little faster as he crawled closer to the limp pup. There was no stench of death in the air, but there was something in this air that destroyed scents and made it hard to decipher even the clearest ones. He would have sensed it if Toboe was dead…wouldn't he?

Unable to ignore precautions, he tipped Toboe's head back and felt his throat for a pulse. Yes…there was a pulse. Weak, but it was there. Tsume sighed throatily and frowned. Damn Sheshkemana. Damn him, for not being able to help. Damn kid, for getting caught in the first place…the large gray wolf continued to curse everything under the sun that might have had to do with this whole stupid mess mentally, his mood steadily getting worse. As his mood soured, he seemed to feel his own pain and hunger more.

"How's the kid?" asked a voice suddenly. Tsume turned around quickly, to see Hige propping himself up with one arm. The hefty wolf had a nasty wound in his side, but otherwise, nothing too bad—just the usual assortment of battle wounds they usually received when things like this happened.

Tusme grunted. "Look at him. He's half dead." His voice had a bitter edge, and a worried hint in it, but if Hige, noticed, he didn't say anything. He sighed. "Why did he have to be stupid enough to get himself caught?" he groaned, looking up at the single, dim light that lit the dismal cell.

Tsume closed his eyes. "There wasn't much he could do when they found him. Honestly, Porky, the only reason you and Kiba found us was the blood trail and tracks, right? How the hell are you supposed to cover something like that when you're on the run, especially if you're him?" He gestured at Toboe with a flick of his tail. "They also had these really strange guns…"

Hige exhaled noisily and glanced at the unconscious wolves around them. "When the hell are these guys going to wake up? This sucks…really bad."

Kiba stirred and grunted, drawing the attention of the conversing wolves. Once he staggered to his paws, and sat down, he glanced at the door. "We've been in spots worse than this before…" his eyes widened the slightest bit when he looked at Toboe, but the worry in his face vanished quickly.

Kiba's inscrutability of his face was a quality that both annoyed and reassured Tsume. It seemed a long time ago that he himself had told Kiba he had to be calm and detached as a leader, and he often did…except when Cheza was around. When that happened, it usually meant all hell was about to break loose on both sides, but that wasn't the case right now.

"What's your plan?" Hige wondered, pricking his ears. Kiba was silent for a bit, but after running his eye over the current situation, he turned to Tsume and Hige and told them, "We have to wait. Sheshkemana's not going to kill us, or at least, not yet. If she was going to, she would have done it already."

"Yeah," Hige chimed. "And look at Toboe, I mean…" his voice gradually lost its cheery tone as he continued. "…I mean…he's…"

"He'll be fine," Tsume said forcefully, but almost reddened in embarrassment when he realized it was detectable. "We'll all be fine," he grunted, trying to sound nonchalant, still knowing that it sounded pathetic.

"Right." Getsuei's voice interrupted. "That damn Sheshkemana, wait'll I get my claws—"

"Stop it." Marel croaked curtly. All the wolves that were awake turned to look at the old wolf, whose blind eyes were close, her head resting on her paws. She looked the same as she did when she was unconscious.

"You were awake that whole time?" Tsume asked, his face creasing into a frown. This old lady was far tougher than he could have imagined. Marel opened one eye, as if indignant of what he said and snorted. "I was awake before you were." Tsume snorted derisively, wondering weather or not to believe this when Getsuei growled at him.

"She's an elder," he snapped, his hackles rising. "You should respect her, Tsume or whatever the hell your name is." Tsume's face beetled into a frown, and opened his mouth to say something rude in reply when Hige butted in.

"Well, that sounds weird, coming from a guy whose pack acts like a bunch of damn strays!" Getsuei's lip curled into a snarl as he started to rise, trembling to his paws.

"Hige..!" came Kiba's voice, but it was completely ignored by the three bristling males, glaring at each other.

Toboe heard voices. Distant, at first, but gradually becoming clearer as consciousness was regained. He blinked slowly, the dim room fading into lucid view. By now, the snarls were loud in his ears and then…the pain struck. He groaned, suddenly wishing for the darkness to envelope him again. He ached all over. Sheshkemana had done more than choke him—she had thrown him around kicked him with her pointy shoes, and the previous beatings hadn't helped. His body was an absolute wreck. At least, that's what if felt like…

He wasn't completely senseless enough not to distinguish the angry and indignant voices he heard, and the very…feel of the air was thickening with tension and antagonism. This was…bad. If they started fighting…

"Stop it, you guys," he moaned weakly, turning himself over slowly. The arguing wolves all jerked their heads in his direction as he stood up on trembling limbs. "Don't fight…" he pleaded, trying to force himself to stay standing. They had all suffered too…they had all been beaten. So…he had to at least make an effort to be as strong as they were…but he was so weak. So weak… "Don't fight…" he repeated, his voice shaking with the effort to stay standing and the punishment his body had taken. Why did it feel worse _after_ the thrashing had taken place?

As he spoke, he could see that Tsume, Hige and Getsuei's faces looked a bit guilty, the fire in their eyes and postures fading. Tsume looked up suddenly and strode over to the pup and sat down beside him. "Don't stand up and don't talk." He said, gently forcing the pup back down.

Kiba nodded in Toboe's direction, both in agreement to what Tsume was telling him and acknowledgement of the pup's efforts. "Let's think of something to get out of here while we've got the time," he said.

Back in the troop's quarters, a heavily bandaged pair of pissed off men, Maron and Kem were sitting down, trying to make the best of their situation. "Goddamit!" hissed Kem. "That stupid wolf practially ripped my ass off! I won't be able to sit properly for a month…"

Maron was in a very bad mood. He cuffed his partner lightly in the side of the head and pointed furiously at his temple. "Look what he did to me!" he half shrieked. "This is going to _scar_ for God's sake. At least no one can see the scars on your butt."

Kem glared at him and then folded his arms. "I hope the Lady takes a long time to kill him…I hope she takes him apart, bit by stinkin' bit."

A/N: Thanks again for your reviews, Lonegrey, Kristen and Saber. I'm really happy to hear you guys like the story, it's really heartening. Your comments encourage me to update as quickly as possible. –bows- As for the transcripts…tricky little mustards, we'll get 'em…xD


	13. A Voice

Disclaimer: I don't own Wolf's Rain. –whimpers-

**Before the Red Moon**

Sheshkamana had taken to the comfort of her dark throne room, the red lamps burning low. It had been three days since the capture of those wolves, and she was starting to get impatient, not only with them, but herself. That look of defiance in the eyes of the pup before he fainted…she couldn't…get it out of here head..! Well, she knew where the all were now; she had heard enough gossip from the guards from Orkham and Jagaura's troops that there were only four wolves in the original party.

The cream and gray one and the old wolf were obviously residents of the pack that lived here. A bonus, sort of. They weren't of abundant use in though, but she would find one later. Now all that mattered was finding out the way to Paradise…Sheshkemana's heart was desperately ill, and she was tired of this world. She would stop at nothing…

The noble sighed and then glanced at the door. Her daughter should be returning soon enough to give her the news on the wolves. In the meantime, she would—"

Her door slammed open, causing her to sit bolt upright in her chair from sheer surprise, but her eyes narrowed in distaste when she realized who was walking in. Annoyance crept into her steadily level voice, disrupting its oily smoothness. "What do you want, Maron?" she asked, waving her hand in a nonchalant gesture.

Maron's face was tight with something she could not read, but she didn't care. "The Commander wants to know what you're going to do with the wolves…" he started, his voice trembling a little.

Sheshkemana had to keep her face from hardening into a frown, but it was work. "It isn't his place to question me like this." She stated, knowing full well that the soldier was the one who wanted to know, not the Commander. The Commander hadn't suffered wounds from the wolves yet, and well, Maron was only human. "I'm not going to have them all killed yet..." her voice uncharacteristically trailed off as her memeory started sifting through the files, making her practically re-live the torture she had administered and have to watch the pup continually fight her…and fight her again, and again no matter what she did…

"Get out of here!" she suddenly snapped at Maron. "I don't want to see your face again until I ask for it! I'm waiting to see my daughter. Leave!"

Maron flinched as if he had been shocked, and then walked as quickly as he could away from Sheshkemana, leaving her to her own disturbed thoughts.

"Argh! I can't believe this!" Hige complained, nursing his left shoulder and wincing every time he touched it. He, Tsume, Kiba and Getsuei had been slamming into the bars of the cage for the last hour and a half, and still the thing hadn't budged. All of them had recovered quite nicely, though they were still a little sore.

"It's like they're made out of something stronger than steel." Tsume commented, pointedly not touching his shoulder, a look of veiled frustration on his face.

"Are you kidding yourself? A damned tank wouldn't be able to get through this crap!" Hige grumbled. Getsuei snickered, and opened his mouth to say something, but Marel growled loudly in his direction.

Toboe had also pulled through. He was able to get up and walk around without too much difficulty, but his bad wounds and the ugly bruise around his neck was a bit tender. He was a little frustrated himself—Tsume had refused to let him help. "Ramming yourself into the stupid door isn't going to help you get any better." Tsume had told him before issuing a point blank no, with Kiba and Hige, AND Marel to back him up.

"Maybe you guys should take a break," he ventured tentatively, bracing himself for the onslaught of indignant growls he'd receive, but before anyone could reprimand him, Kiba suddenly stiffened, as had Marel.

The big white wolf was staring intently at the door, and with wide eyes ran to the edge. "Who's there?" he demanded, his voice echoing. Marel had also moved to the door, her blind eyes closed, her ears turning in all directions...

"Kiba…?" Toboe had gotten to his feet and also walked to where the others were. Hige was sniffing the air, his eyes closed in concentratiotn.

Getsuei sneered. "You can't smell anything in this stupid cell, Hige. There's something in the air that—"

"Shut the hell up, Getsuei," Tsume growled at him. "Stop trying to stir up trouble, it's really pissing me off!" Getsuei snorted and pointedly turned his back on them.

"What is it, Kiba?" Tsume asked the white wolf, the gray lupine's face turned to the door as well. Toboe felt something, a strange awareness, as if they were…

"Are we being watched?" he asked quietly. The silence was deafening, and Kiba turned briefly to nod at him. The pup's heart rate spiked, at least last time something like this had happened, there had been space to run…but something told him that this other presence wasn't hostile—

"Urgh!" Hige stopped sniffing and frowned. "I can smell a Noble." Tsume and Kiba turned to face him. "A Noble?" Tsume repeated, his own voice taking on a harsh, grating tone. Hige nodded. "Yeah…but it has some other scent, way more…human-ish. They're sorta mixed." Now it was Getsuei's turn to frown.

"That smack to the head must've bashed your brains," the cream and brown wolf said scathingly. "And I had doubted that you had even had one."

"Stop it, Getsuei!" Toboe gestured as he said this. "Leave him alone! Getting all of us riled up isn't going to help—urngh!" Getsuei had grabbed the pup by the lapel of his shirt and punched him, solidly. Toboe spun away, and hit the ground, knowing he'd feel that a lot worse later.

Hige spun to face the other. "What the hell is your problem--?" he started to demand when another, sort of airy-fairy voice broke in.

"Don't start fighting…the gray and cream wolf is merely bitter and worried. But he shouldn't have hit the pup." Toboe, back on his feet, bristled, just like everyone else. Kiba glanced around and asked loudly, "Who's there?"

The sound of rustling cloth all made them turn their heads. Their eyes widened as one—except for Marel, whose ears pricked forward—as Toboe let out a small gasp.

Standing outside of the cell, several feet back and sort of to the right, was a girl.

A/N: Gah. Forgive the crummy chapter. We are having seriously stupid weather over here…It's bright and sunny, yet it's raining like crap and I keep hearing thunder like a big ol' bass drum. –cough- Anyways, thanks again for the great reviews! I'm really happy to see you guys regularly comment; it makes me feel nice inside. I really, really appreciate it! My many hanks to Lonegrey, Kristen and Saberwolf! –glomps- I will try and update as soon as possible.


	14. The Lady's Daughter

Disclaimer: I don't own Wolf's Rain. –whimpers-

**Before the Red Moon**

Toboe was stunned stupid…not unlike all the others, who wore expression of surprise and confusion.

The girl looked to be older than Toboe, but younger than the others, her complexion very pale, almost white. Her hair was long and very straight, the color of cornsilk that waved in a nonexistent wind, like the flowing white dress that loosely garbed her desirable body. Her face was smooth and sculpted, with eyes of a pale cerulean that contrasted starkly with the pale of her face and hair.

But that was what most people would see. For standing in front of the four astonished lupines was a very pale, almost blond furred female wolf with bright blue eyes.

"Good God!" Getsuei breathed, his own green eyes huge. "She's a—"

"She's _beautiful,_" Hige supplied, staring.

"But why in the hell does she smell like a human and a Noble?" Tsume demanded, but his eyes were focused on the strange…_being_…as well.

Toboe's heart had jumped into his throat and started pounding away, his ears pricked forwards like all the others. "Yeah that is a good question…" he said quietly.

Kiba didn't look surprised for more than a few seconds. Almost immediately after regaining his composure, he narrowed his sea-blue eyes the slightest bit and straightened. Toboe wished for a moment that he could be like that.

"Who are you?" were the white wolf's only words.

The flaxen wolfess turned her head in a very slow manner, and walked towards Kiba with her head partially down, as if trying to get a better look at him. A spectral light seemed to follow her around.

_Like a ghost, _Toboe thought with a small shudder. Her comportment was eerily fairylike and light, and so…ethereal. It sent tremors down Toboe's spine. She was almost alien to him.

When the strange wolf was barely inches from the bars, she blinked her azure eyes in which a strange, misty look emanated and said in the same otherworldly voice:

"I am called Ren…"

No one said anything for about a minute, but Tsume regained his equanimity an instant after the awkward moment.

"What the hell are you? Why are you here?" He was going to say more, but Hige elbowed him discreetly. Under normal circumstances, Toboe was sure that the big silver would have turned and belted Hige, but to his surprise, Tsume sat back down and waited, a steely look in his fiery yellow green eyes.

"Yeah, what _are_ you?" Getsuei wondered, completely ignoring the fact that Marel had thrown a dirty look in his direction.

"If you stupid pups shut up, it might give her a chance to explain herself." The old wolf growled, laying her grizzled head on her paws, keeping her ears up in obvious means to listen since she could not see.

Toboe kept his eyes on Ren. She was the weirdest wolf he had ever seen, and vaguely reminded him of Cheza, but this wolf in no way was a Lunar Flower. Or anything created by some alchemist…she looked a true blue wolf, but a really strange one…she made him kind of nervous to boot.

Ren lifted her slender, finely made head and looked to each of the wolves in turn. Toboe found her blue gaze uncomforting. He glanced away as she started to speak.

"I am not a pure wolf…my mother is Lady Sheshkemana—" this statement was met by gasps of outrage and shock, but Ren went on, as if oblivious. "…my father was one such as you. He is long dead now; I never knew his name. I have the scent of a human because my mother fears that other nobles or their dogs might find out…but the dogs will always now. She is ignorant of what they see."

Ren sighed, a breathy, little sigh that unnerved the pup even more so. "And I'm here to help you."

Getsuei and Hige snorted in unison, and then turned to each other, with looks of horror on their faces, as if it was their worst nightmare to have thought the same thing.

"Right, so you're a half noble, half wolf? Sounds crazy!" Getsuei growled at her, but the noise was turned into a little yelp of pain as Marel kicked him.

"Well, what in the hell gives you the impression that she's lying, stupid?"

Hige turned his laugh into a hacking cough.

To the other's, and his own surprise, Toboe managed to suck up the guts to talk. "Well…if you Mom's a Noble…how do you know that you're a wolf? And why do you want to help us?" He didn't look up during the duration of the question.

Ren opened her mouth to say something, but heard a loud crash up above and a screech, muffled by the thick walls of the prison wing.

"REN! GET UP HERE, NOW!"

Another crash. The others flinched, as did Ren. "I'm sorry!" she said, almost tearfully before turning and sprinting back the way she came. "I'll return soon!"

A/N: Gurgh, sorry for the slow update…computer went crazy...-dies completely- I shall not shirk my fanfic duties again! xD –grins evilly- I'm eager to hear what you guys think…you'll never guess..hawrhawr. xD Thanks to the usual three, Lonegrey, Kristen and Saberwolf for your great, uplifting comments!


	15. No Resolution Yet

Disclaimer: I don't own Wolf's Rain. –whimpers-

**Before the Red Moon**

Ren quickly whisked up the staircases that led from the darkness of the dungeon, careful to maintain her human illusion as to keep her mother's secret safe. Oh, they knew that Sheshkemana had a daughter, but they had no idea who the father was. Her mother planned to keep it that way. Her claws made almost no sound against the hard surfaces of the staircases and the halls as she breezed by, and it was not long before she reached the great double doors of her throne room.

With a sigh, she opened them slowly, and walked with great composure and poise to her mother—the source of all the bitterness in her life. She hated the throne room…the burning red lights and the excessive shadow—and her mother with her revealing costume all galled her to the core, but none of it appeared on her smooth as silk features. She had long ago trained herself to keep her emotions hidden away.

Stopping at the foot of the ugly throne, she knelt and bowed her head before straightening. "Yes, Mother?" Sheshkemana's face was just as inscrutable as that of her daughter's, but her eyes gleamed with a spark of annoyance. "You sure took your time in getting here, girl. So tell me, what have you learned from the wolves?" her voice took on an eager ring at the end of her sentence.

Ren lowered her eyes and related, "I have learned nothing. My appearance startled them, maybe even frightened them, and they questioned me. But I revealed nothing of my past or parentage," she lied, knowing with great certainty that her mother could never guess that she had uttered a falsehood. Perhaps her mother saw through those of others, but never through her own daughter's. "Besides," Ren continued softly. "Your calling cut the meeting short."

Sheshkemana showed the faintest trace of emotion—annoyance—when Ren told her this, but she managed to control her smooth face. "Very well then. Go down there tomorrow, Ren, and do not fail me. I understand it will take some time, but no longer than a moon. Paradise calls me, and there will be a place for you too. Go down at dawn, and come back at midday. Now, leave me."

"Yes, mother," Ren replied, her feathery voice almost inaudible as she inclined her head once more, straightened and walked slowly from the room, her mind racing underneath her expressionless face. She had to free the wolves sooner before the month was up. And if she dilly dallied and brought no information of the wolves and Paradise, her mother would catch on to the fact that something was up.

She quickly went up to her room, again at a pace that her mother would be angry to see her move at, and retired to her chambers before her guards would arrive. It was a hideously adorned room; there was no space for her to be what she was. The one thing that she liked about it, was the wide window, thrown open wide, letting the silver light of the moon seep into the space, adding strength to the young half wolf. The feeling made her suddenly angry with herself. The wolves in the prison hadn't eaten or drank for almost four days…damn. She stood up, and with some reluctance left the radiance of the full moon and then opened her door again. Her guards had arrived.

"Ren." They stood to attention as they awaited her orders. They were they were the only people in the entire keep that she could trust. "Odakota. Sanyu. I have jobs for the both of you." They were fully aware of her wolfish heritage, and had raised her from the time when she was barely a pup. Odakota and Sanyu were siblings, brother and sister, but were almost like parents to Ren.

"Listen closely, my good friends…you know the prisoners down in the penitentiary are wolves, and though not through blood, they are my kind. None of them had eaten and drank for days, and the light of the moon is denied them all the way down there. Please get them something, but be discreet about it."

"Don't worry, M'lady," Sanyu said, tossing her short black hair and smiling at the half wolf. "No one will ever guess." With that, brother and sister disappeared down the hallway. Ren retreated back to her room, trying to quell her uneasy thoughts. Nothing would be solved until tomorrow.

"Okay, now you guys have to admit it, that was really dodgy!" Getsuei complained, stuffed in a corner, his fur fluffed up, his eyes darting from side to side.

Hige was trying to sleep, but it wasn't coming through. What they had all just seen was somewhat disturbing and very unnerving. There was too much to think about to sleep. "Shut up, Getsuei, for the millionth time!" He said with a yawn, obviously trying to retain his nonchalant air.

Toboe was curled in the back corner, hugging his knees, a pensive look on his face. That noble-wolf girl seemed perfectly trustworthy, now that she was gone. Her ways had been friendly, despite her bluntness on explaining herself. But there was probably no sugar coated way to deliver news like that anyway…

"Getsuei, you've denigrated into a cat while I've been holed up here or something!" Marel snapped irritably, her tail twitching from side to side. "I've finally figured out what's been up with you, you've turned into a damned cat."

Hige found this extremely funny and started to laugh. Tsume did the same, but his laughing wasn't as uproarious as Hige's. Toboe started to giggle too, Marel's thought easing the trouble on his mind. "That's funny, Marel," he congratulated, but the belly laughing that eventually evolved from the giggles reminded him of his empty stomach.

Getsuei humphed and looked crabbier than usual, turning his head with a snort and glaring at the wall.

Once the laughter had subsided, bellies started to growl. Hige's was easily the loudest, and it wasn't long before he started to moan. "Ugg…I'm so hungry, I could eat Getsuei," he groaned. "And that's saying something." "Quiet, Porky, it hasn't been too long," Tsume replied.

Toboe was certain that Hige's Getsuei remark was going to stir up more trouble. "Hige, don't say things like that!" he said, trying to keep the peace—just as his stomach complained loudly. He flopped back against the wall like jell-o with a sigh.

Kiba's voice was that of reason just as a very pissed Getsuei just about said something rude. "We've gone longer without food before. We'll be fine."

Just as he said this, another clang echoed in the room, causing all ears to prick up and all heads to turn in the direction of the noise. And then, Toboe scented something that cut through the odor destroying chemical. His hunger probably allowed him to detect it—food and water.

Hige had already leaped to his paws, an expression of hungry idiocy on his face. "I smell meat!" he said, his voice shrill. Tsume sighed throatily. "What the hell makes you think its for us? It could be those two idiots, Maron and Kem or whatever their names are coming down here to taunt us. Better just go to sleep."

"After that creepy noble-wolf girl? I'm gonna have nightmares!" Getsuei grumbled.

The scent of food came ever closer, and Toboe's mouth started to water uncontrollably, but his heart sank in disappointment when Tsume's words struck home…maybe it was just Kem and Maron, and he wasn't looking forward to seeing their ugly faces again—

The thought of negativity came a halt as two guards, a man and a woman, carrying a crate appeice, halted in front of the door. The wolves watched them carefully.

Toboe tensed. He had never seen these nobles before…his surprise tripled as a couple yards of bar seemed to fall away and the man pushed the first create though. It landed with a clunk, right beside Getsuei's face, who jumped back in surprise.

Toboe wanted to say something, but just as he opened his mouth, the woman pushed the second crate in and said in a gentle voice, "This is from Lady Ren. Don't worry, it's not poisoned." With that, the two nobles replaced the bars and quickly walked away, leaving the six wolves in stunned silence.

"Uh, uh, thanks!" Toboe called almost a half minute after they had gone, his voice echoing hollowly in the hall. Hige was already tearing the first crate apart in his eagerness to get to the meal. After he ripped the top off, he was rewarded with the sight of fresh cut meat, enough so that each wolf wouldn't have to go hungry. There wasn't enough water in the second crate to drink too much, but it was enough.

After a brief hesitation, all the wolves had dug in.

It was way late now. Toboe assumed that all the wolves were asleep, but he had stayed up, after waking from a nightmare involving Sheshkemana, Ren, Maron, Kem and a knife. The shade of the nightmare haunted him, keeping him aware for long hours and it wasn't until pure exhaustion came over him that he closed his eyes.

A/N: Wow! A new reviewer! I welcome you, Tweak. Muchas Gracias. It's great to hear from all of you guys, Lonegrey—yay! Love hearin' from you—Kristen, thanks very much! –grins happily- I'm glad you guys like the story, and I'm really grateful for your faithful reviewing, as silly as that sounds. I'm quite flattered. Not that it matters, I'm going to be an author when I get older…I have started to write my first novel, 'tis almost done…-COUGH- anyway, thanks again and I'll update soon! By the way, not that it means anything, but Ren is a Japanese name that means 'water lilly'. -


	16. Escape?

Disclaimer: I don't own Wolf's Rain. –sighs wistfully-

**Before the Red Moon**

Maron woke early that morning. It was before dawn, perfect, just perfect. There were absolutely no guards wandering around, the night watch always shirked their duties around three a.m. He could not ask for a better opportunity to get back at the huge gray wolf, who had given him a permanent scar on the face that made him uglier than before. Just because he wanted to save that stupid pup. Maybe he'd kill the little one first, just to watch the gray wolf suffer…yes…Since it was obvious Sheshkemana wasn't going to do anything about them yet, he would be sure to make it look like an accident….

He had already roused Kem from his sleep, and even though the younger noble troop was clearly annoyed, he said nothing nor complained. Maron had achived an odd, feverish look in his brown eyes, bent on revenge. Kem could tell by the way Maron was handling his gun, his finger hovering over the trigger, that his friend was on the brink of crackup.

"Easy does it, Maron," he cautioned nervously, trying to keep pace with the older man. "Look, I really wanna get back at them too, but shouldn't we wait until the Lady gives the order? I mean, you've seen what she does to those who disobey her, and it's not pretty…"

To his surprise, Maron did not turn around and hiss something venomous at him, but replied in a perfectly rational voice, "Oh, it'll be causal. We'll make it look like we were patrolling early, because we heard something. Turns out the wolves had broken a hole in the prison wall and attacked us as soon as we got there. We'll kill the gray one for sure, and shock the others…"

Toboe opened his eyes, now fully accustomed to the darkness, and the unwelcoming shadows, hard edged and dark seemed to watch him. He shut his eyes back tight again; wishing this rotten situation would just disappear…It was weirdly cold in the stupid dungeon too. He shivered, trying to vainly keep his body warmth to himself, but the cold, hard ground seemed determined to suck it out of him.

With a small sigh, the pup sat up again and rubbed his head, hugging his knees once more. The others were still out like lights. Hige's gentle snoring eased harshness of the dismal atmosphere, but it was only a small comfort. Toboe let himself be reassured by it anyway. It made this place not seem so…lonely.

One question kept pricking at the back of his mind. Why did Shehskemana want them in the first place? At the very thought of her and her evil cackle, another violent shudder attacked his spine. They didn't know where Paradise was…at least, he was almost sure they didn't. Kiba's leadership had brought them through thick and thin, only failing when Cheza was around…which ironically meant they would be or were getting closer…

A dim crash and the thud of boots on cement woke him from his reverie. He jerked his head in the direction of the sound, an expression of confusion on his features. The others heard it and woke with a jolt, even Hige. "What the hell?" the robust brown wolf wondered, his mahogany eyes on the door.

"I dunno, but whatever it is…" Toboe began, starting to panic. The sounds were coming closer, and those footsteps were horrifically familiar.

"Oh damn!" Tsume suddenly exclaimed. "It's those stupid guards!" Toboe felt his stomach completely drop away. Not them. If they were looking for them this early, their intentions could not be good.

"What?" Getsuei asked ignorantly. Marel threw him another filthy look. "Guards! Think about it, kitty cat. It wasn't as if Toboe, Tsume and I weren't guarded on the airship! Unfortunately, these are the guards that gave Toboe that shoulder wound."

Kiba stiffened. "Here they come," he growled, pulling his black lips back in a snarl, his hackles raised. He above all the others could look very ferocious if he wanted to, even more so than Tsume sometimes…

BANG. Maron and Kem skidded to a halt in front of the cage. Kem looked dubious, and Maron almost looked insane at this point, an ugly scar twisting his unshaven features. He had a big gun in his right hand, and his knives glittered at his waist. Toboe couldn't help but flinch a little when they showed up, his heart starting to pound.

Maron cackled. "See? There's no one down here…all we gotta do is…" he put the gun right up to one of the gaps in the bars, trying to aim for Tsume, but Kiba suddenly lunged, startling the troop and causing him to leap backwards, but unfortunately, his finger had been on the trigger. When Kiba had leaped at him, Maron had brought the gun down, firing at a lower section in the bars.

The multiple bullets slammed heavily into the cross section of two joined bars—right where Toboe was—, the noise absolutely deafening, but to the wolve's surprise, the crossbeam fell apart. Toboe had leaped almost two feet in the air as it came apart, but saw a blur of movement that could only be Hige coming up behind him, just as the alarm sounded in the prison wing, screeching and flashing red lights.

Maron and Kem panicked, fleeing the scene and leaving the gun just as tons of guards poured in—but unfortunately, Maron ducked into a small niche in the wall, pulled a tiny lever and seemed to disappear from sight, leaving his only friend out in the hallway to the guards, who were starting to fire.

"Move, runt!" Hige yelled, shoving Toboe forward towards the hole made by the gunshot. "You're the only one that fits, get out of here, go, dammit!" Toboe wriggled forward, more on Hige's instruction than anything else, the broken metal scraping his fur, but he was out. Free….the sound of gunfire and the smack of a bullet into the ground right by his paw brought him violently back to reality as Tsume bellowed, "RUN!" backed up by Kiba, Marel, Hige and even Getsuei. "RUN, TOBOE!"

Toboe was petrified. His eyes were huge, but there was no other chance or choice he would have. He turned and sprinted as fast as he could, his eyes wide with terror, dodging the bullets from the guards clumsily, but he managed to keep his pace. He was nearing the wall of guards on the other side, and there was no getting past them…unless…something dark and primal seemed to start to smolder, taking some of his fear with it in the blaze that resulted. His face was twisted in a snarl as he bared his long teeth, his hackles bristling.

He surprised even himself when he launched himself at the head guard, his mouth open as he tried, and successfully grabbed the noble's neck, his hindclaws scrabbling on the armor. He felt a sharp pain as a bullet grazed his tender shoulder, and he yelped and let go, dropping down the ground and taking off again as fast as he could manage, staggering up the stairs, the dark fire gone, panic the only thing driving him now. He rounded the last corner, his tongue lolling out of his mouth—maybe he could reach Ren—and found himself face to face with none other…than Lady Sheshkemana. And she had her sword.

A/N: Awesome, That's what you guys are. All your comments and stuff really make me feel good, as I've said ten thousand times. You guys are the bestest. Lonegreywolf, great to hear from you, Tweak—great to have ya!—Kristen, thanks!—Saberwolf, welcome back. -grins hugely- Hawr. Thankies again! SQUEEEE! YAYNESS! –dances around- I HAFF ACCESS TO DVD 7! –girlyfansqueal- Hawr! My sister and I managed to get our mom to order it. ARGH, sorry for the short chapter guys!


	17. In the Nick of Time

Disclaimer: I don't own Wolf's Rain. –sighs wistfully-

**Before the Red Moon**

Toboe felt his mouth go very dry as sweat broke out all over his body, his amber eyes wider than dinnerplates. He made a small, terrified noise and backed away, numb with dread and fear. His heart seemed to stop and his blood froze when Sheshkemana stared at him with her eerily green eyes that gave the impression that they were glowing, cold holes of pitless malice. Why did this have to happen?

Sheshekemana didn't even look at her sword as a wicked smile slowly spread across her savagely beautiful features that sent shivers down Toboe's spine. And she started to laugh, that evil, unventilated laugh. It seemed to bounce off the walls in the confined space, slamming through Toboe's defenses until it was all he could hear—it brought back memories of the most horrible things, blood and death and violence—guns and the howls of wolves and men alike in agony—

He slowly sank to his knees on the steps, his hands clapped over his ears, trying to shut out the horrible sound, but it seemed so loud that it would be the only thing he ever heard again—he suddenly felt a violent tug as Sheshekemana grabbed the lapel of his shirt and yanked him forward, like a snake. The cackling had stopped, but it reverberated in the pup's head.

The sight of her face inches from his own caused extreme panic, but before he could do anything, she seized his throat with her other hand and compressed her grip with strength like iron. Desperation hummed through Toboe's veins as he struggled frantically to get away, it felt like his breath was being sucked out of him. The wild pounding of his heart was magnified as she constricted tighter.

"I see that letting you live was a mistake," he hissed, her eyes narrowed—much like a snake. "Not only did you defy me, but now you try and escape! I'm going to ask you one more time, since you're conveniently at my hands. Where is Paradise?"

She rammed him against the wall, causing the pup to see stars once more as pain exploded in the back of his head, just like the vicious beating she had given him before they were imprisoned. His struggles started to fail even faster than before—she was literally crushing the air out of his throat, the blood from his bullet scrape completely forgotten in his fear and desperation. But he didn't even know the answer to the question she was asking! He couldn't tell her even if he did know!

His eyes shut and he his teeth grit in pain. He could lie to her—then the pain would stop, she'd let him go—but…he'd be letting down his friends, and his entire race. But where could he find the courage to tell her no? Through his half-choked state, a small flame in his heart flared up. _Don't tell her…reveal nothing. _

He tried vainly to pry her fingers off his neck as he wheezed, "I…won't…tell you…!" He could practically feel the anger radiating from Sheshkemana—opening his eyes, he saw that her lovely white face had almost purpled in anger.

"Still you defy me!" she screamed, squeezing as tight as she could. Toboe made a choking sound. "I will enjoy watching you die!"

His lungs screamed for air, his weak struggles completely fading off as he sagged against the wall, unable to stop her, powerless. There was nothing he could do—but at least he would die like a wolf. Black spots started to splatter his range of vision as he thought thickly, _I wonder what the others would think…will they miss me…?_

He wished that the last thing he was going to see wasn't Sheshkemana, so he made an effort to look around…and then…

The sound of a heavy metal object crashing down the stairs rung loudly, bouncing off the walls as whatever it was slammed on down. Toboe could see the light was blocked out for a fleeting instant as Sheshkemana let out a scream of rage and fear as she released his neck and fled, letting the pup slide to the ground, limp at first, but at the release of his neck, he sucked in air shrilly and greedily, feeling the life seep back into his body. He saw a fleeting movement, a huge metal octagonal box, the size of a small boulder unknowingly pursued a very freaked out and pissed Sheshkemana down the stairs—he could hear her screeching.

He didn't have enough breath to make a comment aloud, but he thought, _What the heck was that? And who did it? _He staggered to his feet and collapsed again, his legs like jelly. Still panting, he crawled up the stairs, painfully slow, but it was as fast as his strained body would allow. He hoped sincerely that whoever threw the box, or more likely, rolled it down the stairs was friendly.

Each step was torture—the staircase was huge. Hauling himself up each one seemed to require the energy it took to move a mountain, and his claws had no purchase on the smooth surface…at first. To his glee—for once, something good—his strength returned rapidly, until he could shuffle up the stairs. Finally, in what seemed to take an age, he reached the top, and to his surprise, he found an anxious looking Ren waiting for him.

"Oh my god!" she cried before he could say anything, her eyes wide, all her fairy like grace and composure vanished for now. "I heard my mother and saw the box right there, so I rolled it down the stairs, but after a few seconds, I wasn't sure if you'd've made it—"

"You…saved my..life," Toboe panted, his own eyes rather wide. This was a side he never thought he'd see about the half noble, her spectral radiance was no longer present, and her strange, ways were…gone. She was behaving like a normal wolf… "Thank you."

Ren stopped blabbering, her ears pricking up suddenly. "It was nothing," she said quickly, "But we have to get out here fast, my mom should be getting reinforcements or at least a search team to come find you! Come with me, she'll never think of searching my room! Can you run?" she asked, looking desperate.

Toboe, tired as he was also heard heavy footsteps, and that slammed the adrenaline of fear into him. "Yeah, but—"

Ren didn't wait for his answer. She held up the hem of her skirt so she wouldn't trip, grabbed his right hand, causing the bracelets to jingle and then took off.

She was fast, half dragging him all over the place; he didn't have a clue where he was going. His paws thudded heavily on the hard floors, their breaths coming in short gasps as she towed him through hallways with tall arches, heavy double doors, places with a lot of wall paintings, chandeliers, but all the way there were those horrible red lamps.

"This way!" Ren gasped, vaulting up another flight of stairs and dashing down a strange black hall, the only light being strange, tiny glittering golden lights that gave the impression that they were walking through pitch dark space. The place struck Toboe as eerie, but it hardly mattered, Ren had yanked them faster than light through that place, and turned a corner. They were now in a normal hallway of this stupid keep, and as suddenly as they got out of the black place, she pushed him forward and shoved him through a door, jumping in after him and slamming it.

Toboe sprawled in an indignified way on the floor, gasping for breath. Ren was doing the same as she secured the locks. "There," she breathed, wiping her face with a slender hand. "They won't look here…you look half dead. Here, you can sleep in here," she stumbled over to a small spot on the wall and held her white hand over it.

A mesmerized Toboe watched as that small section of the wall slid away, revealing a tiny place that could just fit a wolf, and looked soft and warm inside. Then, a wave of exhaustion suddenly hit him, making him feel as if he hadn't slept in a month and had fought a battalion of wolf-hunters.

The pup trotted slowly over to it, and looked questioningly at a breathless Ren, who was smiling. "You're tired…if anyone comes along, I'll close it. You'll be able to breathe…" she looked very tired. "Take a nap…we'll figure out how to get your friends out soon."

A/N: Hawr, Sheshkemana got served! Anyway…ARGH! My teachers are so mean. They dumped thousands of pounds of homework on me, I'm sorry for the hideously slow update! Please forgive? –huggles- Thankies for the reviews, they're really great. As for the broken sever Tweak, I dunno, this site's servers are pretty half arsed.


	18. Ominous Promise

Disclaimer: I don't own Wolf's Rain. –sighs wistfully-

**Before the Red Moon**

Tsume was prowling near the door of their prison, pacing back and forth with his expression set in a concentrated frown. It was always ten paces, back and forth…his heart seemed as if it was constantly being held by an icy claw, and unbidden, unwanted thoughts kept swirling through the gray wolf's head, making him grim.

Was there a chance in hell that Toboe was alive? No, he would have felt it if he was dead…right? Right now, he wasn't sure weather to thank Hige for shoving the pup out of that tiny hole or hate him for sending him off to who the hell knows where. As if echoing his thoughts, he heard a depressed Getsuei mutter, "There's not a chance in hell that the pup is alive. Knowing him for just a few days made it clear to me that he was a weakling."

All three wolves of the pack—Kiba, Hige and Tsume, whose face contorted into a snarl bristled, his ears flicking upwards, his tail bristling. "Say that again," he spat, trying to keep his hackles from rising. How dare this stupid…this pathetic excuse for a dog criticize a pack member? But for all his annoying literal ways, was he actually right?

Getsuei growled at him, undaunted. "It's hard to be positive while we're starving in this hole, Tsume!" he barked, his face a mixture of sorrow, anger and pity for the situation. "I hate this!" it was practically a cry. "Do you honestly believe that someone as young and inexperienced as him could have survived? Remember when we came along and saved yours and his necks from death the first time? You saw it, Sheshkemana would have killed him were it not for us. And yet, it seems like we've only postponed death."

He sank back onto the ground in a skulk, his tail curled around his paws. Hige flattened his ears and stood up. "Dammit, don't you have any faith in other wolves?" he demanded angrily. "The runt's not dead. He's our only chance right now, and who knows, maybe he met up with that pretty girl." He added, trying to half-forcefully, half-jokingly restore a lighter mood. Mixed emotions made it hard to do that.

Kiba hadn't said anything yet, but he had a slightly pensive look in his sea-blue eyes. Turning his face to Marel, he asked the supposedly sleeping wolf, "Marel. What's our most likely future?"

The dark wolfess smiled the tiniest bit and opened her blind eyes. "I was wondering when one of you were going to ask me that." She said, heaving herself to her paws.

Tsume's jaw dropped, as did Hige's and Getsuei's. "What?" Hige exploded. "You have some idea of what's gonna happen, and you didn't say anything?"

Tsume elbowed him. "Quiet, Porky," he snapped. "If we start bickering again, she'll just go back to sleep." Getsuei, as if trying to prove this point faced Marel with wide green eyes, standing straight and still, as was Kiba.

Marel yawned, and stretched. Tsume had the feeling she was deliberately trying to annoy them, or at least see how far their patience would stretch. Silence hung heavy in the still, damp air, as if trying to make up for the hell of sound earlier—guns, snarls and the cries of Maron's lacky, Kem as he was killed at the guns of his own. After what seemed like an eternity, Marel sat down again and curled her tail around her paws.

"Toboe is not dead," she said decisively. Tsume felt the strain on his heart and mind lessen considerably, and he almost let out a sigh of relief, but caught himself at the last second.

"He had met up with Ren, and right now, they will most likely devise a plan to come and rescue us. I _don't _know the details!" she snapped as Hige opened his mouth. "All I know is that our most likely future is that we will be rescued at the full moon."

"That's in less than three days," Kiba said, looking up at the ceiling, getting his usual, misty-ish look when he was thinking about something that the others wouldn't understand.

"How the hell do you know?" wondered Tsume, trying to contain his respite.

Kiba shook his head. "I dunno…I can feel it, that's all." Shrugging, he addressed the others. "We shouldn't try to make a move yet…Marel, what are the chances that we will be rescued in two days?"

Marel closed one eye and cocked her head. "Out of ten?" she asked, flicking her tail.

Kiba nodded, and Marel sighed. "Our very best chances for getting rescued…are four out of ten."

"Hey, Ren?" Toboe asked, looking out the window. The moon was almost full, he could tell that, even thought it was mostly hidden behind a thick shroud of dark gray clouds. His wounds had not been bad, he just had a bad bruise around his neck, but his bullet scrapes and other bumps were minor and had healed quickly. His strength had also returned, but with it, increasing worries for his friends. He was even wondering about the obstinate and pessimistic Getsuei. About the cream and gray wolf…he wasn't a bad wolf. He was bitter, and sad, because he had been worse off than Tsume from what Hige had told him when he and Kiba had found him. And that was saying something…besides, Toboe had a thing for reading people, and was pretty sure that Getsuei's heart was true…but his goodness was probably hidden behind a veil of acrimony. His heart was aching…

Marel was someone who had kind of freaked him out, so weird, with her blind eyes and her additiude. She wasn't a bad wolf either, just a little too creepy for Toboe to want to talk to…

He found himself missing Kiba, Hige and Tsume. They were family to him, and even though they would pick on him, that was okay, because they…well…Toboe thought back to how Sheshkemena was interrogating him, and Tsume had been fighting fang and claw to help him…and it was not the first time. He would never say anything, but was it friendship or merely loyalty to a wolflike way of life that made him like that? He himself had always wanted Tsume's approval. There was something inside Tsume that needed friendship. And Toboe had wanted to provide that.

But he was worried. For all he knew, Shehskemana went down there to take her anger out on them. She hadn't stopped searching for him either, he could constantly hear the guards patrolling the keep.

"What, Toboe?" Ren wondered as she came up to him. "Is something wrong?" Toboe nodded. "Yeah…" he said quietly. "What about…Tsume and the others. We have to get them our of there, or Sheshkemana'll kill them!" his voice had started to rise in panic. "We have to do something, Ren?"

The blond wolf pursed her lips. "Toboe, _you _barely escaped my mother with your _life_ yesterday. Are you serious in wanting to try and get them out of there that quick? It's risky at best, and well…I'm not even sure they trust me yet."

"They'll trust you," Toboe said earnestly, his eyes wide. He didn't care about the risk yet. Something deep down inside told him something bad was going to happen, a shadowy threat with red eyes, hiding in the corners of his mind, taunting him with a tapping tail and a vicious leer. "Trust me. Something bad's gonna happen, I know it!"

Ren was obviously worried as she processed this, and Toboe waited with baited breath for her answer.

"…All right. We'll go and get them tomorrow. Right now, we have to think of a plan."

In Sheshkemana's throne room, the Noble had started to grow impatient. It was obvious that those wolves wouldn't crack without…persuasion, and she was unable to find the pup. Oh, when she got her hands on him he would die so slow…!

But that must wait. For now, the next morning, there would only be three wolves in that cell. Gesturing for a guard, she leaned over and whispered something in his ear. He stood to attention as soon as she finished, and said curtly, "Yes milady." With that, he signaled for a huge, armored trooper to come with him, and then strode out the door.

A/N: Ha, I can't blame my teachers this time, the servers kept going down on this stupid site. –growls- But I must say that I am very sorry for making you guys wait so long…WHAAAHH! I just saw the last four eppies of Wolf's Rain and I was crying so hard I could hardly see the screen. And as for Toboe dying off? Do you honestly believe that I'd kill him off, Kristen? -thwaks- Not after seeing…-gulps- Those last eppies…-sniffs- Thanks for you loyal reviews—Lonegrey, my faithful, Kristen, my trusty, Tweak the whose comments always make me laugh and Saberwolf!


	19. Battle

Disclaimer: I don't own Wolf's Rain. –sings- Oh I wish! xD

**Before the Red Moon**

It just so turned out that the rescue mission to save the wolves in the prison had been decided to be executed that night. Sanyu and Odakota, Ren's guards and good friends had delivered news that Lady Sheshkemana was going to kill two of the wolves in the cell. They didn't have details, but sent Toboe and Ren into a panic. When they had calmed down enough to think straight, the plan had been moved for that night.

It was going smoothly so far…

Toboe was following Ren through the long corridors, taking detours that seemed painfully slow and time wasting, so they could avoid those security cameras. Toboe's eyes were wide, his heart was pounding in his throat. Fear was making him crazy. Every shadow that loomed in the heavy darkness seemed to be tall and angular, like Sheshkemana herself, the dark red lamps, whose hellish light never faded, seemed to accent the terror. His tongue was lolling out, his large amber eyes flicking back and forth. The clink of his bracelets seemed magnified by ten thousand; his very breathing seemed louder than a winded bull.

"Calm down, Toboe," Ren told him from up ahead. Her ears were flattened, and though Toboe couldn't see her slender face, he was sure that she was also scared. Her voice had a slight tremor in it, and her panting was easily audible. At least, to Toboe.

"Why…does your mother have to do things like this?" he asked, trying to keep his voice from rising in panic. "Why does she hate wolves? Why? She seems to want to kill us all, but wasn't… your father was one?" He was asking for two reasons, one, he was genuinely curious, two, he wanted to distract himself from horrific thoughts…he could all too easily picture Hige getting stabbed, or Tsume getting shot, Kiba dying from numerous wounds, Marel getting crushed, Getsuei, being choked to death…he shook his head, trying to clear it from those morbid illusions.

Ren sighed, as if physically pained by the memory. "Toboe…it was other wolves who killed my father. They found out what he had done, and said no punishment other than death would suffice for his crime of loving a Noble. My mother…was not a beast, like she is today. After my father's death, she was left to raise me, only pup at the time. She at first only wanted to go to Paradise together, and we'd see Caden—my father—again. But over time, when her searches had been fruitless, bitterness turned her heart to stone, to the point where she blamed all wolves for father's death, blamed me because of her useless searches. And she thought that Paradise would ease the bitterness of her life. Her love for me withered and died, like a starved flower."

Toboe was quiet for awhile. Why would Ren tell him what had happened to her so easily? Was it because she trusted him, or because she needed to distract herself too?

Or perhaps she never had anyone who would listen? Not even Odakota or Sanyu? Pity stabbed at his heart like blackthorns, making him flatten his ears in sympathy at the tale…Ren seemed tired, and so much _older_, even if her face wasn't visible. Her tail had started to drag a little, and her ears were flat. Her posture was a bit slumped, too.

"…That's…that's awful…" it was all he could say. His tongue felt like it was tied in knots. A half wolf, stuck serving a mother who had nothing left to live for…in a sick realization, he wondered how many of the other Nobles were like this…the thought made his stomach clench uncomfortably.

A sudden clanking noise that was hideously familiar wrenched him violently from his reverie. His ears went up, his eyes widened. That noise…

"Oh damn!" Ren whispered bitterly. Her ears were flattened. Toboe recognized the sound with a sickening jolt. Soldiers. Marching.

Ren quickly dove into the shadow, grabbing a fistful of Toboe's shirt in attempt to drag the pup, who was standing numb with shock in the center of the hallway. She forced him down into a corner, but Toboe could see the looming shadows of the troopers. There had to be at least twenty of them, trooping down the hallway, all in heavy armor, wearing faceplates that obscured their eyes, noses and mouths—faceless terrors. All of them carrying a heavy weapon that looked like a short spear. There was an odd projectile mounted just behind the blade, and Toboe could gess what it was used for.

The horror and dread of where they were going sunk into Toboe like water soaks into parched ground. His mouth went dry, and he started to sweat. They were going to the cell! "They're going to kill them!" he said in a panicked whisper.

"Screw stealth!" Ren shouted, her lip curling back to reveal her long, sharp lupine teeth as she lunged out of the darkness with a vicious snarl, charging after the nobles down the hallway. Toboe followed with a barking growl of his own, letting instinct and fear for his friends take over. His subconscious self was horrified and scared—he had never fought like this before. But the spirit of the angry wolf was burning in his blood.

The troopers turned around with surprising speed, and just before Toboe launched himself into the air, he heard one of them exclaim, "What the hell—?" but the soldier's words were cut off as the brown wolf pup smashed into his chest, sending them both down the long staircase—that was at the end of the hall—that let to the prison. They crashed down with much clanging, yelling and snarling. The other militia followed, with yells of, "It's that wolf!" or "I've never seen that one before!" or "SHOOT THEM!"

Toboe was barely heard what was going on behind him. All that mattered was stopping these noble troops! He clawed vainly at the soldier's armor, using his long teeth in attempt to get at his neck, but his opponent was strong. He brought his spear-weapon down on Toboe's forehead, shoving the pup away with a yelp. Toboe barely felt the pain. _Is this how Tsume, Kiba and Hige fight on so hard? _The sane part of him wondered as he launched another attack on the noble. It wasn't long before both combatants entered the prison wing with a crash—followed by several others who immediately started to shoot at Toboe—at least seven of them…

"What the _hell_—is that—TOBOE!" All of the wolves in the prison had been up, brooding and waiting, but all had been stunned when they heard the sounds of battle. Tsume had been the one that cried out when he heard the familiar cries of Toboe. The battle scared gray wolf watched in horror as the pup was shot at, but to his surprise, Toboe wasn't doing as bad as he feared. He was dodging many, despite the grazes and hits we was getting…he looked almost like…

"What's going on with him—?"

"Don't just stand there you idiots, try and get out of here!" yowled Marel as she heaved herself to her paws and started tearing at the little hole that Toboe had escaped through. Ren had finally entered the scene, the remaining ten nobles that had attacked her following. She had killed one already, and didn't look sorry in the least.

Tsume immediately forced himself to forget the pup for the second and attacked the bars with his teeth, desperation feuling his strength. Hige, Tsume and Getsuei did similar, but they were making painfully slow progress.

"Toboe!" he heard Ren's voice yell above the din. "Get your friends out of there!" the last ended in a shrill yelp of pain as he saw the blonde wolf's body fly into the wall with a bang, but even after she slid to the ground, she staggered to her feet and lunged again.

Toboe jumped away from a squirming noble troop, his eyes wide with a mixture of anger, fear and urgency as he bounded over to where his friends were. His belly was clenched, and his face was no longer creased in a snarl. "Are you guys all right?" he panted, blood dripping from several wounds he had received as the battle raged around them.

"We're fine!" Tsume growled roughly as Getsuei rumbled, "Get us out of here! There's no telling when Sheshkemana—"

His sentence remained unfinished as a spear slammed down where Toboe had been a fraction of a second earlier—the pup had rolled out of the way just in the nick of time, and the spearblade had slammed the gate holding the other wolves in. His heart jumped violently in his chest as he moved, and the door fell apart, the right half falling with a creak and a clang, and the left following shortly after as Kiba, Tsume, Hige, Getsuei and Marel leaped out, snarling and attacking with much vigor.

To Toboe, the fight seemed endless. In seconds, there were only ten of the twenty soldiers that had come down to kill them! He was panting heavily. There was blood in his mouth…The bitter, coppery taste of it made him want to gag as his blood dribbled from his own wounds as he looked in shock as the humans that _he, _Toboe, the runt, had killed. There had to be at least four of them…

But there was no time for that now. His face contorted in a snarl once more as the wolves, in a semicircle were forced with their backs against the wall by the remaining soldiers, threatening them with the points of their spears.

The leader—Toboe guessed—brandished his weapon violently and barked, "Surrender, or we'll forget our orders from the Lady and kill you all!"

A/N: Sorry for the long wait! School's almost out, so homework won't be an issue anymore! Eeeee! Glad to hear you guys enjoy the story! And welcome, welcome, Metaligod and Dynasty! Always great to have new reviewers. Tweak and Metaligod, your reviews made me laugh. -gives muffin- Don't think I've forgotten the steadfast Lonegrey, -also gives muffin- Thankies very much, luff your comments, and Saberwolfie's –gives cookie- words. -gives muffins- I'm really happy to hear you like Marel, Saber. Here's a poll, which one of the OOC's do you guys like best? Just out of curiosity…xD


	20. Sacrifice

Disclaimer: I don't own Wolf's Rain. –sings- Oh I wish! xD

**Before the Red Moon**

Disclaimer: I don't own Wolf's Rain. Wish I did, though…-sigh-

**Before the Red Moon**

_Surrender, or we'll forget our orders from the Lady and kill you all!_

The threat reverberated around like a clanging bell in Ren's mind as she and the others stood, furious, cornered and desperate, their snarls echoing in the large, high-ceilinged room. All of them wore an aggressive stance, their hackles raised, their tails bushed out, lips drawn back to show bloody fangs.

Kiba, his pelt scuffed and bloody stood forward and raised his head, his eyes smoldering defiance and battle fire. "Never!" he hissed, his fur bristling, his snarls loud and his stance threatening. Ren admired his bravery, and from what Toboe had told her, this wolf had stared into the face of death countless times and made him blink.

"Suit yourselves," the iron voiced commander growled, raising the weapon. At the sight of the gun's muzzle pointed at the wolves, Ren's heart pounded. It was an insane idea. But it would be the only thing that would save the wolves. Her breathing quickened, and her eyes were wide. She felt like she was going to take a running dive off a cliff stories high.

But she did it anyway. Leaping in front of Kiba, who stepped back when she gestured with her tail, she turned to look at the troops with icy blue eyes, her slender face turned towards them, her outward appearance peaceful and proud. She took a deep breath and—Toboe obviously realized what she was about to say and yelped, "Don't do it, Ren, no!"—but for his sake and that of the pack, she lifted her head and said imperiously, "I am the daughter of Lady Sheshkemana! Harm me at the risk of your own lives!"

The silence that followed was so loud that she thought her eardrums would burst. But to her surprise, the troops looked completely unruffled as they stared at the small party of angry, desperate wolves. And then, to her horror, the leader started to laugh. A full throated, belly laugh that filled the prison wing. His cohorts did the same, until it was the only thing the wolves could hear until they stopped. Ren was in complete shock. What the hell was going on?

The commander answered her question as if he had been reading her mind. "Silly girl," he said with a trace of a chuckle. "We know. We know. And you want to know a little something? Your mum knows what you've been doing. She found out about the pup. And she ain't too happy."

Then, before any wolf could blink or move, he quickly leveled the weapon at Ren, and then pulled the trigger.

_IT happened so fast. I saw the muzzle of the gun flash, heard Toboe scream, "NO!" and then felt the brutal impact of the bullet, slamming into my chest, white hot metal, striking dead center in my heart. I felt a flame of pain, as my blood, bright red against the pale gold of my coat blossomed all over, like some morbid flower, spreading all the way to the edges of my forelegs, and dripping down onto the hard stone floor freely. It was an agony like I had never felt before, intense and unrelenting as I stared in shock at the horrible wound. But for some reason, the pain, though it did not lessen, seemed to be less of a concern to me as I sank slowly to the ground in a puddle of my own gore._

_The world around me, riddled with gunfire, snarling and yelling seemed to fade slowly from my hearing. My sight started to melt away, everything becoming a blur…I then saw a shadow over me, and realized thickly that it was Toboe. I could see his bright amber eyes through my foggy vision, and thought I saw tears…something sparkly was running down his cheeks._

"_Ren, no, please, don't die!" he whimpered, burying his head in my fur. "Don't die…"I understood his sadness…though I had only known him for a short while, we had become fast friends…and I knew my death would pain him. It was sad, and happy in a way, knowing that someone cared whether I lived or died. My own heart ached at leaving his friendship behind, but it wasn't like I had much of a choice…but at least I could leave him with gentle parting words._

"_Toboe…" I said, my voice weaker than I thought. "It's…all right..." talking was much more of an effort than I realized. My heart was slowing, skipping a beat every now and then...I heard him stammer, "No, Ren…just hold on..!" there was a plea in his voice. _

_But I could not stay. My life was slipping away, like a wave on the sand, retreating slowly. "It's not…like you'll never…see...me again," I wheezed, knowing my time was measured in seconds. With all the breath my heaving sides could hold together, I whispered, "We'll meet again…in Paradise…" with those words, my head thudded to the ground. The last thing I saw and heard was Toboe, throwing back his head in an anguished howl…and then, I sank into a red mist that deepened into black._

_But only for a second. I felt strength seep back into my body…I felt no pain. There was no longer hard granite under me, but soft, lush…grass? I opened my eyes, to see rolling hills dotted with wildflowers all around me. A white lunar flower grew near my paw…the sky overhead was a perfect periwinkle blue, the sun blazing overhead with a smile. I stood up, and looked around, my heart pounding. Was this truly…?_

_Then, on the next hill, a tall, strong shape stepped up, the sun behind him, making his gray pelt flame around the edges with gold sunbeams. His eyes were deep blue…just like mine…and his smile was oddly familiar._

"_Father!"_

As Ren uttered her last words, a mist seemed to roll from behind her eyes, fogging them over as the light of life left them. All that was left was the body of the beautiful blonde wolf, dead. Toboe threw back his head and howled, his grief-stricken cry reverberating around in the room. His heart needed to grieve his dead friend…he barely heard the fight around him until something heavy slammed into his side and sent him sprawling across the room with a yelp as pain rammed through his skull. He crashed into a cell opposite of theirs, and tried to stagger to his feet, but his muscles felt like lead. He looked up helplessly as the noble trooper was just about to bring his weapon down on Toboe's prone body.

"NOT A CHANCE, YOU BASTARD!" He heard a familiar voice yell. He looked up, to see an enraged cream and gray figure streaking at the troop. The moon marking on the wolf's eye marked him out as Getsuei. The skinny wolf leaped up and sank his fangs into the neck of the noble troop before he could so much as say 'Bob's your uncle'. Blood squirted from around Getsuei's fangs as the noble collapsed in a heap of clanging armor. Releasing the troop's neck, Getusuei turned to Toboe and cocked his head. "You all right?" he asked, helping him up.

No, he wasn't all right. "Yeah…fine…" Toboe said, looking at the ground. "Thanks…" he looked around. The noble soldiers were dead, every last one of the SoBs. They were free to go, until Sheshkemana found them…or just maybe, they could get away without her noticing, but considering their luck lately, there was very little chance of that…

Toboe walked numbly over to his head friend and sank to his knees. Why? Why did she have to go…? She didn't deserve it…he heard the others pad up behind him. Kiba put a hand on his shoulder in comforting gesture, and closed Ren's eyes with the other hand.

"She's dead…" Hige said quietly. "I can't believe it. She didn't even know us very well…"

"It was a waste…that noble thug," Marel muttered, her blind eyes staring up.

Getusuei said nothing. He merely looked somber, and astonished.

Tsume opened his mouth to say something, but obviously thought better of it and closed his mouth.

Kiba stood up straight. "Toboe. There'll be time later." He looked at the pack and addressed them all. "Ren died a true wolf, no matter what her other half might have been. Come on. We can't stay here. The longer we hang around, the better the chance will be that Shehskemana will catch us." He turned and started to sprint for the door, followed by the rest of the pack.

Toboe started to run after them, but paused a second, looked back at the body of Ren, and then pressed on.

A/N: Sorry again. My damn computer spazzed on me and deleted my luverly chapter I worked my butt off to write! –cries- So I had to rewrite the whole thing, but I guess it's better than the old one anyway…Thanks for the great reviews, peeps! huggles Lonegrey, Kristen (Sorry I didn't mention you last time! Accident.), Saberwolfie, Tweak and our new person, Chocolate Chan! Really nice to have ya. And yes, the story will come to an end soon, but yes, a suquel is what I have in mind next. So, be ready! I'm happy you guys all like Marel! I felt bad about the whole Ren issue when writing this, but…x3


	21. A Vow of Revenge

Disclaimer: I don't own Wolf's Rain. –sings- Oh I wish! xD

**Before the Red Moon**

Disclaimer: I don't own Wolf's Rain. Wish I did, though…-sigh-

**Before the Red Moon**

Toboe's mind was numb with shock as they ran through the twisting passegways, the red lights only adding to their hopeless confusion and growing frustration—they were completely lost. Even Marel hadn't been able to stay on the right path after a while, and their wounds coupled with the long battle down in the dungeon were taking their toll.

The young wolf was trying to get a grip on himself, trying to force his mind to accept the awful reality that Ren was dead. And the Noble troop who had killed her practically said to her face prior to shooting her that her mother had ordered it…his strides were heavier and slower than that of the others, and the look on his face was transparently sad.

Ren was dead.

His instincts urged him to believe that time to grieve would come later, but he felt as if a huge building had fallen on top of him—the thought was oppressive. As they ran, Toboe didn't notice that Hige was dropping behind the group, leveling with Toboe's shoulder. The hefty brown wolf kept his eyes on the others ahead as he said quietly, "At least she's in a better place now…I mean, she's probably with her dad, right? And it doesn't take a genius to honestly say that Paradise is way better than living in this stupid hole with her bitch mother?"

He had a point there…Toboe forced a smile and said in the same, low voice, "Thanks, Hige." He was glad for his comfort…he needed that. The consideration that Ren was happy now, in stead of stuck in a world of blood, pain and sadness, made him feel better. New strength soared to his tired limbs as he thrust himself forward, his strides loosing their lag. He would miss her, though, whatever the others said…

Hige nodded at him, and then ran on a bit to catch the others, but a sudden bang and a draft surprised the wolves. Kiba halted dead in his tracks, the others skidding to a stop right behind him. Toboe had just gotten into his stride, and tried to stop, but his claws had no purchase on the slippery surface. With a clumsy yell, he slewed forward, loosing control of his long legs and tumbled into Getsuei's rear with a dull thud, shoving the older wolf forward.

Getsuei grunted in annoyance and glared fiercely at Toboe with his bright, moon ringed eye and then turned his attention back to the current situation. "What's going on?" he demanded, sniffing the air.

"Not sure. But I smell nobles," Hige said darkly, his face furrowing into a growl. "This stupid place is crawling with them!"

"Either way, we better be ready for a fight," Tsume growled, narrowing his yellow green eyes and letting his long silver hackles rise on his shoulders.

Toboe thrust his nose into the air, closed his eyes and took a few whiffs. Yeah, it definitely had the acrid tang of a noble, but it was familiar—

His amber eyes snapped open as a figure, bloodied and beaten staggered into view on the opposite side of the hallway. It's heaving gasps were easily audible to the wolves clear across the room. The figure was male. Blood drenched the front of his uniform, mostly around his throat and chest, dribbling onto the stone floor. He stumbled into the center of the hallway, made as if to move towards the stunned pack of wolves, where he sank to his knees with an exhausted grunt.

"Odakota!" the name burst from Toboe's lips as he charged forward, his heart in his throat as a wave of fear washed over him, right past Kiba, Tsume, Hige, Marel and Getsuei.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Demanded Tsume, leaping after him. Kiba followed suit with a snarl.

"Damnit, that's a noble's troop!" Hige and Getsuei said in unison—again. Both jerked their heads in each other's direction, again looking horrified, remembering the last time that they had blurted out something at the same time.

"Argh, will you stop stealing my words?" Hige grouched as they ran towards the others.

"The only thing that scares me is the fact that you and I seemed to see every damn thing the same!" Getsuei groused in reply.

Toboe nudged the wounded noble troop with his nose, his eyes wide with panic and loss. "Odakota, what's going on? What happened to you?" he asked, his voice cracking a little. No! First, Ren, now him…

"Where's Sanyu?"

"You're getting friendly with the nobles," Tsume growled skeptically. Hige nudged him in the ribs with an annoyed look on his face. Getsuei was looking around wildly, muttering, "Oh come on, a half dead noble stumbling in on us means that more are on the way!"

Marel and Kiba looked on in silence, Kiba's face set in its usual inscrutability. Marel was watching the dying troop with narrowed, blind eyes.

Odakota spat out some blood, coughing violently before wheezing, "Sanyu's dead…I…I managed to get away. I needed to warn you wolves that Sheshkemana…knows where…you are, and she's…sending in Noble troops to attack…you from all sides as soon…as you get out of the…Maze of Corridors…" he looked up weakly, and Toboe could see with a jolt of sadness that his eyes were starting to cloud as the pool of blood around his person increased.

Toboe couldn't really bring himself to tell him the truth…but before he could say anything, Kiba put in, "She's dead. But she died the death of a true wolf, and we can't ask more. Tell us…how can we escape the Lady?" He seemed to realize that this man had been close to Ren, judging by the pain in his voice when he asked…but who knows? To Toboe, Kiba seemed to have a sort of sixth sense. But that was just him…he thought.

Kiba's voice was calm and even….maybe it would ease the new wound that he had unintentionally opened in Odakota's heart.

The soldier didn't seem too sad…Toboe guessed he didn't have time to be sad. The dying man nodded slowly. "To escape Sheshkemana…" he heaved a cough and continued, "Take the left fork…you'll come…to a window…a-and then…you need to jump. You'll be okay, t-trust m-me…" Kiba nodded and then turned his head sharply in the direction that he heard a sharp bang.

Toboe nudged Odakota again, knowing it was too late to save him now. It didn't hurt him quite as much as Ren's death, but knowing that this man had raised the half-wolf from puphood…

The misting of Odakota's eyes was almost complete. With a last, trembling effort, he whispered, "At least she's better of…now…" with that, his body slackened as his head thudded to the ground with a sickening little splash in the blood. He was dead. Gone, just like Ren…

"Hurry!" Kiba said, breaking through Toboe's thoughts as he took off down the left fork at the end of the corridor, his strides fast. Toboe's heart jerked in his chest as he followed Kiba, his sandess torn away by the need to save themselves—he could hear Sheshkemana shouting not far behind.

"GET THEM! I want them DEAD! Dead, you hear me, DEAD!" Hige and Getsuei charged after Tsume. Marel was faring fine on her own, she probably sensed a straight path. Or, more likely, she knew what was supposed to happen.

Toboe's heart thudded wildly as the steady, rapid _clank, clank, clank _of armored feet pounding behind them increased in volume as Sheshkemana's roars echoed loudly in the halls, bouncing off the walls. She seemed completely beyond mere rage now.

"It is because of you damned wolves that I had to kill my own daughter! You corrupted her, you're just like the bastards who killed her father! I'll kill you all! You're DEAD, DEAD, _DEAD_!"

None of the wolves were listening as gunfire raged past them, missing them narrowly. Getsuei's ear even got clipped, but he didn't even yelp in pain. Finally, the window, the huge, tall window loomed before them. Dawn was breaking, Toboe could see it coming to quench nightmares and relieve the night. If only it would get rid of the nightmare of the Lady. Kiba neared the window, and leaped out in a white flash. After him came Tsume, then Marel, then Getsuei and Hige, all launching out of the window without so much as a thought.

"NOOOO!"

Sheshekemana was barely five feet behind him. He was still several yards away from the window, and with a jolt of panic sensed, rather than felt her grab his scruff. She dragged him back with savage strength; born of fury and shoved her insanely twisted face into his own, brandishing a long, jagged knife.

Terror spasmed through Toboe as he slashed out randomly, first knocking her mask off and with his bracletted paw struck her face, getting a sick feeling as his four claws tore through flesh—straight across her left eye. Blood fountained from the ugly wound as she screamed in pain and let go, holding her eye and howling, "My eye! You've ruined my eye!"

Toboe didn't even think as he scrambled to the window, heaved himself out and leaped, not looking to see what he was headed for until he was falling. He heard Sheshkemana screech insanely from the window, "I WON'T FORGET YOU! I'LL TEAR YOU APART, I'LL FIND YOU! YOU AND ALL YOU PRECIOUS PACK!"

That was the last he heard from her as he plunged from the window, his stomach clenched so hard he thought it would tie into a knot, and when he looked to see where he was falling, the breath stripped from his lungs, he saw that barely a tree's length below, he was falling straight for a river.

A/N: This site is so screwy…ah, it ain't your fault guys. Stupid review thing. J -hugs all- I'm glad to hear the original crowd (Loyal Lonegrey, Steadfast Saberwoulf, Terrific Tweak, and…um…I can't think of a K word…oh well, FABULOUS Kristen, xDD) Eee! And thanks much to Chocolate Chan, Cring White Wolf, Rae and D.C talk! Happy to hear you guys are anticipating the sequel! –grins- School is almost out, so I'll be able to update better. We have finals these LAST TWO DAYS, so I'm uber busy. ; Sorreh!


	22. Before the Red Moon

Disclaimer: I don't own Wolf's Rain. One does wish, no?

**Before the Red Moon**

Falling, falling, falling, towards that blue black river, crowned with white foam as it raged through the deep gorge below. Shiny black rocks jutted out of the violent water. Toboe's heart rammed in his throat, his eyes wide with fear as he fell, spread eagled towards that river, fear clutching his stomach with an icy claw.

Odakota must have been mistaken, delirious! There was no way that they could make it out of that mess without getting injured badly. He couldn't see the others either. Dark images of his friends getting swallowed by that black water, slammed against rocks and sinking under the water, never to rise again, filled his mind as he fell deeper into the gorge, the high sandstone walls flying by as the scenery above it suddenly disappeared, and he had no time to even brace himself as he crashed into the icy hold of the watercourse.

It was so cold, the young wolf gasped in surprise as he slammed into the water, his impact on the water so hard that it stung, even through his fur—but the discomfort was nothing compared to being shoved under the surface, dragged along by the current like a gigantic hand, pulling him under and forward, turning somersaults and twisting around as he tried futiley to fight the power of the water. The breath had been torn from him when he hit, and all his heart was pounding furiously, but his cold-numbed body barely felt it.

Desperate for air, his lungs burning, he attempted to claw his way to the surface. His eyes were shut, for fear of the cutting water, but he was blundering around like a blind man. Need forced him to open them, the wintry water swirling around his eyeballs, and he longed to close them, but at the moment, he had little choice as he was dragged by the river—his reason dragged away too.

Every time he tried to swim to the surface, where the sun's reflection shimmered brokenly, he was shoved down again by the water. His mind and body were weakening, as was his will to fight due to lack of air and cold. He was getting stinging water up his noise, roaring in his ears and in his eyes, adding to his dilemma.

But it hadn't gotten to its pinnacle yet. As he was heaved bodily through the current, he sensed it right before it happened, the river started to crazily change course, ramming him into wet, smooth boulders with crushing force. Runny stars exploded in his head as he tried to whimper in pain, but no sound would come, his lungs on fire as his limbs dragged him down like leaden weights.

It was one rock after the other, even his anesthetized body could feel the impact again, and again, and again….and finally—

He was shoved up to the surface, for a split second, taking in all the air that he could, spluttering and coughing water out of his mouth, his vision was so bad with pain and the water he couldn't see anything around him, and all he felt was blind panic and pain. The water seemed endless, but soon, the rocks were gone.

It had started to slow, but only the tiniest bit, and Toboe could surface. He paddled weakly against it, his extreme anxiety obvious on his face. He couldn't see, and every breath hurt, his chest especially. His brain seemed waterlogged, his limbs seemed to be made of stone. And then, he heard it. The rushing sound. The roaring sound.

His heart quickened. The roaring grew louder, and just as his vision grew clear, he forced himself to turn around. A sheer drop of water, a curtain falling and falling. A waterfall.

"No!" he screamed breathlessly, fighting with renewed strength against the current, but every paddle appeared to take him backwards, until he was practically inches away, litererally running in the water, but going nowhere. Just as he started to disappear over the edge with a howl, he heard a familiar, agonized cry that shouted, "NO!"

But he fell. Down, and down, and down with that veil of water.

He crashed down, dazed, slammed under by the hail of water from above, completely having lost the will to fight for his life anymore. He was blacking out, dying, maybe for all he knew. He could only hear the sound of the water as he floated to the shore, limp as a rag doll. The rough pebbles against his fur scraped and were pushed away as his bruised, battered, and bloodied body was washed partially onto the shore. Wave after wave slid over him, and then retreated as the unconscious wolf lay, deaf to the singing of the birds and flowers around him. But, in that limp, cold form, his heart still beat, steadily.

"NO! TOBOE!" screamed Tsume as he limped over to the edge of the water, his yellow green eyes huge as he watched the pup disappear over the edge with the sheet of icy water. He felt the frozen claw of fear grip his heart, as he looked over, seeing nothing but the misty bottom of the falls as Toboe vanished into it, his anguished howl echoing.

Tsume hung his head, his tail drooping. The gray wolf's fur, mostly around his right shoulder was matted with blood, his face scuffed up and his body bruised and aching. He had been lying on the side of the river, after having fought his way out of the current, barely hanging onto consciousness when the runt had passed by.

"I'll be damned if he's dead!" he snarled to himself bitterly, his eyes unusually bright as he sat down on the rock that jutted out over the falls. "He isn't dead, he isn't dead, he isn't dead," he repeated over and over as despair took its place in the air around him. He should have stayed behind him, protected him. That pup meant a lot to him. So much. He wouldn't be here if it weren't for him.

He wanted to take the pup to Paradise.

"I'll find him if it kills me." He growled to himself. Hearing heavy pawsteps behind him, he jerked his head over his injured shoulder to see Kiba, though bloodied, looking fine. His yellow eyes were bright with purpose, as usual, and his stride lacked an obvious limp. Hige was also fine, with an ugly scratch by his right eye. Getsuei's flank was covered in blood, but it looked as if the wound had closed itself up. Marel was leaning heavily on Getsuei, her usual proud stride and stance lost to exhaustion.

"Where's the runt?" Hige asked, panting heavily as he looked up at Tsume. "He didn't—"

At Tsume's silence, and his discreet gesture at the waterfall with his tail brought the others to realize that Toboe had gone over.

Stunned silence, broken only by the raging waters ensued. "He's not dead, you know." Kiba said firmly, looking out at the drop. "We would have sensed it."

Hige and Getsuei said nothing. Both were staring at the water. "Toboe…he…"

"We'll find him." Tsume said decisively, his voice a little harsher than he intended, "We'll find him."

"But for now, we have to rest. It's only so much time before…well, you know. But it's a full moon tonight." Kiba stated solemly, looking up into the darkening skies.

If a bird had been soaring overhead the river, silhouetted against the white moon, he would have heard the five howls that reached up into the heavens, joined suddenly by a higher, smaller sound as it resonated throughout the land, for all to hear, a single song among many, before the red moon.

A/N: The final chappie! –grins- I did my best to make it extra spiffy for you, and will get to work immediately on the sequel. PLEASE, don't judge the sequel by it's summary—my summaries as a RULE completely suck. So, having said that, I hope you liked the story and I'm eager to bring you my next Wolf's Rain story. I would like to thank each and every one of you. Lonegreywolf, I want to thank you for your endless and loyal support since chapter one, and that your words have been a light when my bulb's out. Gracias. Kristen, I'd like to thank you for your reviews, and kind words. Saberwolfie, your enthusiastic appraisals make me feel great. Tweak, you make me laugh. I'd like to thank you for your words and the laughs you've given me. D.C., I'm glad to have picked you, Chocolate Chan and Cring White Wolf along the way, getting new people and hearing what they have to say is great, and I hope you will ALL be with me for the next fanfic. All of your reviews in succession let me know that nothing is wrong, and that this ride will continue. Everyone's reviews are the highlight of my Internet-day, and I always look forward to hearing from you. Regards also to Rae, Metaligod and Wolf Called Killer. Again, thank you for your support, and I hope that you enjoyed the ride! Gracias, amigos!


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